+ 


UUSB  LIBKAKT 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/evolutionofindusOOdyeriala 


THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY 


..j&m 


THE 


Evolution  of  Industry 


BY 


HENRY  DYER,   C.E.,   M.A.,  D.Sc. 

HONORARY   PRINCIPAL,   IMPERIAL  COLLEGE   OF  ENGINEERING,   JAPAN  J    LIFE 

GOVERNOR,   GLASGOW  AND   WEST  OF   SCOTLAND    TECHNICAL  COLLEGE; 

MEMBER   OF  THE   INSTITUTION    OP   NAVAL   ARCHITECTS, 

ETC.,  ETC. 


Nefo  ff  otfe 
MACMILLAN    AND    CO. 

AND     LONDON 

1895 
All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1895, 
By  MACMILLAN  AND  CO. 


NorfoooU  $ttss«: 

J.  S.  Cushing  &  Co.  — Berwick  &  Smith. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S. A 


"  This  that  they  call  '  Organising  of  Labour '  is,  if  well  understood, 
the  Problem  of  the  whole  Future  for  all  who  in  future  pretend  to 
govern  men."  —  Carlyle. 

"  Government  and  co-operation  are  in  all  things  the  laws  of  life, 
anarchy  and  competition  the  laws  of  death."  —  Ruskin. 

"Privilege,  if  rightly  interpreted,  is  a  call  to  special  devotion.  Fel- 
lowship in  labour  is  the  condition  of  happy  and  lasting  peace.  We 
want  an  organisation  of  industry  which  shall  stir  enthusiasm  like  the 
military  organisation  of  the  Middle  Ages."  —  Bishop  of  Durham. 

"  The  actual  final  rights  of  man  lie  in  the  far  deeps  of  the  ideal. 
Every  noble  work  is  at  first  impossible."  —  Carlyle. 


PREFACE 

Goethe  prophesied  that  the  great  problems  at  the 
end  of  the  nineteenth  century  would  be  the  organi- 
sation of  mechanical  industry  and  the  social  and 
economic  questions  connected  therewith.  This 
prophecy  has  been  abundantly  fulfilled.  The  dis- 
putes and  struggles  connected  with  labour,  and  the 
conditions  of  the  poorest  classes  of  the  community, 
have  directed  the  attention  of  many  thoughtful  men 
and  women  to  the  social  and  economic  problems  of 
the  day,  and  in  all  parts  of  the  world  these  are  pre- 
senting themselves  to  educationists,  social  reform- 
ers, politicians  and  statesmen,  as  the  matters  which 
above  all  others  are  urgently  demanding  careful 
study  and  investigation.  M.  de  Laveleye  put  the 
dominant  thought  into  words  when  he  said  :  "  The 
message  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  man  was, '  Thou 
shalt  cease  to  be  the  slave  of  nobles  and  despots  who 
oppress  thee  :  thou  art  free  and  sovereign.'  But  the 
problem  of  our  times  is,  '  It  is  a  grand  thing  to  be 
free  and  sovereign,  but  how  is  it  that  the  sovereign 
often  starves  ?  How  is  it  that  those  who  are  held 
to  be  the  source  of  power  often  cannot,  even  by  hard 
work,  provide  themselves  with  the  necessaries  of 
life?'"1 

1  Contemporary  Review,  March  1890. 


vjii  PREFACE 

From  a  survey  of  the  chief  conditions  of  industry 
which  have  been  brought  about  by  the  great  develop- 
ment of  machinery  and  of  the  applications  of  science, 
it  is  evident  that  the  present  century  is  in  a  large 
sense  a  probationary  epoch,  an  era  of  beginnings. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  at  all  a  question  of  whether  the  ex- 
isting social  order  shall  be  changed,  but  of  how  the 
inevitable  change  shall  be  made.  For  ages  the  soil 
was  being  cleared,  ploughed  and  harrowed,  and  for 
the  past  century  the  seed  has  been  springing  up,  and 
in  some  cases  coming  to  maturity  before  men  were 
properly  prepared  to  take  advantage  of  it.  The  re- 
sults have  been  that,  while  great  advances  have  been 
made,  there  has  been  great  turmoil  in  social  conditions, 
and  strife  and  stress  in  industrial  relations,  and  we 
are  now  face  to  face  with  many  problems  of  a  very 
difficult  nature. 

The  whole  fields  of  economics,  education,  and  even 
of  religion  have  been  revolutionised,  and  these  have 
reacted  on  social  conditions.  Hence  have  arisen  the 
demands  of  labour  for  a  larger  share  of  its  products, 
and  for  their  more  equable  distribution.  It  is  long 
since  Carlyle  pointed  out  that  "this  that  they  call 
'Organising  of  Labour'  is,  if  well  understood,  the 
Problem  of  the  whole  Future  for  all  who  will  in  future 
pretend  to  govern  men,"  but  it  is  only  now  that  poli- 
ticians are  beginning  to  recognise  that  it  is  the  most 
important  piece  of  work  which  lies  immediately  be- 
fore them.  Like  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  I  believe 
"that  the  unique  heritage  which  we  enjoy,  containing 
as  it  does  the  common  enjoyment  of  the  highest 
forces  for  inspiring  and  disciplining  a  generous  char- 
acter, not  only  prepares  us  to  face  the  problem  of 


PREFACE  ix 

the  organisation  of  industry  as  a  fellowship  of  service, 
but  lays  on  us  the  obligation  of  doing  so.  The  life 
of  nations  is  a  mission  no  less  than  the  life  of  men, 
and  unless  the  teaching  of  history  misleads  us,  this  is 
part  of  the  mission  of  England.  May  the  will  answer 
to  the  call.  Men  upon  the  whole  are  what  they  can 
be  —  nations  what  they  would." 

The  modern  industrial  community  is  a  very  com- 
plicated organism,  and  the  interaction  of  cause  and 
effect  takes  place  in  a  way  which  is  not  easy  to  fol- 
low, either  in  fact  or  in  thought.  Hence  the  neces- 
sity for  the  careful  study  of  the  various  factors  of  the 
problems  involved,  and  for  the  elimination  as  far  as 
possible  of  all  disturbing  elements.  It  is  necessary 
to  educate  the  democracy  in  the  duties  and  rights  of 
citizenship,  so  that  their  political  action  may  be  that 
of  patriots  and  not  of  partisans.  Too  often  men  and 
women  become  social  and  political  reformers  and 
philanthropists  because  they  have  been  caught  by  a 
cry  of  suffering  or  an  urgent  plea  of  wrongs  to  be 
righted  ;  but  they  have  seldom  formed  any  adequate 
idea  of  the  complexity  of  problems  with  which  they 
attempt  to  deal,  or  of  the  delicacy  of  the  social 
machine  on  which  they  depend.  If  these  problems 
are  to  be  solved  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  all  their 
factors  must  be  taken  into  account,  and  the  different 
aspects  fully  considered. 

Hitze,  in  his  suggestive  book 1  on  social  questions, 
has  truly  said  that  the  problem  of  the  day  is,  "To 
find  a  social  organisation  corresponding  to  the  modern 
conditions  of  production,  as  the  social  organisation 
of  the  Middle  Ages  corresponded  with  the  simple 

1  Die  Qtiintessenz  der  Socialen  Fragen. 


x  PREFACE 

conditions  of  production  then  existing  both  in  town 
and  country" ;  and  it  is  this  problem  in  its  industrial 
aspects  of  which  I  have  attempted  to  indicate  what  I 
believe  to  be  the  nature  of  the  solution.  Both  history 
and  science  show  us  that  social  and  economic  changes 
to  be  permanent  must  be  gradual,  and  fitted  to  the 
mental  and  moral  conditions  of  the  people.  I  believe, 
therefore,  that  the  solution  of  the  problem  I  have 
mentioned  will  not  be  brought  about  by  a  revolution, 
or  a  brand-new  organisation,  but  by  the  evolution  of 
movements  at  present  going  on,  and  by  the  develop- 
ment of  intellectual  and  moral  training. 

In  the  following  pages  I  have  attempted  to  esti- 
mate the  value  of  the  various  factors  in  the  industrial 
problem,  and  to  co-ordinate  or  integrate  their  effec- 
tive components,  so  as  to  be  able  to  form  some  idea 
of  the  resulting  organisation.  The  limits  which  have 
been  placed  to  the  size  of  the  book  have  prevented 
anything  like  a  complete  analysis  or  description  of 
the  different  elements  in  the  labour  movement ;  all 
that  has  been  attempted  has  been  a  very  brief  outline 
of  their  most  distinctive  features.  General  readers 
have  neither  time  nor  patience  for  minute  accounts, 
and  moreover  it  is  not  desirable  that  a  survey  of  the 
whole  question  should  be  overburdened  with  details. 
The  historical  and  economic  aspects  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  subject  have  been  dealt  with  in  a  very 
brief  manner,  and  reference  must  be  made  to  special 
works  for  particulars  of  their  development.  The 
object  kept  in  view  has  been  to  show  that  the  various 
parts  of  the  labour  movement  have  common  compo- 
nents, and  that  they  are  developing  an  organisation 
of  industry  which  will  meet  the  conditions  necessary 


PREFACE  xi 

for  efficiency,  and  for  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity. 

While  I  cannot  hope  to  have  pleased  all  my  critics, 
either  as  regards  my  treatment  of  the  subject  or  the 
results  at  which  I  have  arrived,  the  book  will  have 
served  its  purpose  if  it  has  helped  individual  thought, 
and  indicated  the  manner  in  which  social  problems 
should  be  studied  before  changes  in  administration 
and  legislation  are  attempted.  I  have,  however,  not 
been  so  anxious  to  give,  in  a  dogmatic  manner,  my 
own  opinions,  as  to  show  the  tendency  of  thought 
among  those  who  are  studying  the  problems  connected 
with  labour,  and  who  may  be  considered  authorities 
regarding  them.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  organisation  of  labour  is  only  one  ele- 
ment, although  no  doubt  a  very  important  one,  in  the 
more  general  problem  of  the  organisation  of  society, 
which  I  shall  consider  in  another  volume. 

I  have  to  thank  my  friend  Dr.  R.  M.  Wenley  for 
his  kindness  in  reading  the  proof-sheets  as  they  passed 
through  the  press,  and  for  many  suggestions  which 
have  helped  to  make  my  meaning  clearer.  He  is, 
however,  in  no  way  responsible  for  any  of  the  opinions 
expressed  in  the  book.  I  have  also  to  thank  many 
friends  connected  with  different  phases  of  the  labour 
movement,  as  employers  and  workers,  for  the  infor- 
mation which  they  have  given  me,  and  for  the  oppor- 
tunities which  they  have  afforded  me  of  discussing 
the  various  aspects  of  the  work  in  which  they  are 
engaged. 

Dowanhill,  Glasgow, 

February  1895. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    I 

Introductory 

PAGE 

Law  in  Nature  —  Use  of  theory  —  Economic  laws  —  Wealth  — 
Law  of  the  Conservation  and  Dissipation  of  Energy  — 
Applications  to  economics      ..... 

CHAPTER   II 

Conditions  of  Development 

Introductory  —  Man  and  evolution  —  Heredity  and  environment 
—  Parasitism  —  Degeneration  and  death  —  Organisation  — 
Demands  of  workers  —  Future  of  machinery — Future  of 
politics  —  Social  and  industrial  ethics  .  .  .28 

CHAPTER    III 

Early  Corporate  and  State  Regulation  of  Industry 

Introductory  —  Merchant  guilds  —  Craft  guilds  —  State  regula- 
tion     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  65 

CHAPTER    IV 

Individual  Industry 

Introductory  —  Industrial  evolution  —  Domestic  industry  — 
Factory  system  —  Companies  —  Monopolies  —  Social  re- 
sults    ........       75 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   V 

Trade  Unions 

PAGE 

Introductory  —  Development  of  trade  unions  —  Objects  of  trade 
unions —  Results  of  trade  unions  —  Combinations  of  employ- 
ers—  Boards  of  Conciliation  and  Arbitration — Influence  of 
trade  unions  on  legislation       .  .  .  .  •       99 , 

CHAPTER  VI 
Position  of  Women 

Introductory  —  Women's  work  —  Economics   of  women's  work 

—  Women's  influence  .  .  .  .  .118, 

CHAPTER  VII 

Co-operation 

Introductory  —  Aims  of  co-operation  —  Origin  and  development 
of  co-operation  —  Methods  of  co-operation  —  Profit-sharing 

—  The  Familistere  at  Guise  —  Private  trading  and  co-opera- 
tion —  Trade  unionism  and  co-operation  —  Results  of  co- 
operation        .  .  .  .  .  .-.     133' 

CHAPTER   VIII 

Municipal  Control 

Introductory  —  Development  of  municipal  control  and  manage- 
ment—  Voluntary  associations  .  .  .  .169. 

CHAPTER   IX 

Modern  State  Control 

Introductory  —  State  control  —  Education  —  Public  health  — 
State  management  — Social  results  —  Relations  of  munici- 
pal and  State  control  to  socialism    .  .  .  -179. 


CONTENTS  XV 

CHAPTER    X 
Industrial  Training 

PAGE 

Introductory  —  Development  of  industrial  training — Educational 
arrangements — Apprentices — Special  schools  and  classes 
—  Commercial  work  —  German  law  of  apprenticeship  — 
Economic  and  civic  education  —  Applications  of  art  to 
industry — Relations  of  trades  to  industrial  professions  and 
general  culture  ......     199 

CHAPTER  XI 

Modern  Industrial  Guilds 

Introductory  —  Objects  of  the  guilds  —  Development  of  Boards 
of  Conciliation  and  Arbitration  —  Wages  of  the  workers, 
and  the  problems  connected  with  them  —  Workshop  recon- 
struction .  .  .  .  .  .  -225 

CHAPTER   XII 

Industrial  Integration 

Introductory — Sphere  of  trade  unions  —  Sphere  of  co-opera- 
tion —  Limits  and  nature  of  collectivism  and  sphere  of 
legislation — The  future  of  the  individual  and  of  individ- 
ualism —  Local  integration  —  International  relations  —  Con- 
clusions ....•••     255 

Index         ......••    3°5 


THE    EVOLUTION    OF    INDUSTRY 
CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTORY 

While  it  is  universally  recognised  that  one  of  the 
distinguishing  features  of  the  present  century  has 
been  the  ever-increasing  extent  of  the  applications  of 
science  to  industry,  it  is  very  remarkable  that  these 
should  have  been  for  the  most  part  confined  to  details 
and  to  methods  of  production,  and  that  little  or  noth- 
ing has  been  done  to  guide  its  organisation  on  scien- 
tific lines.  Recent  writers  on  the  subjects,  however, 
have  recognised  that  economics  and  politics  must  have 
a  biological  and  physical  basis,  and  that  social  science 
is  only  the  final  chapters  of  physical  and  biological 
science.  The  general  problems  of  sociology  are  of  a 
very  complicated  nature,  but  the  special  ones  involved 
in  the  organisation  of  industry  seem  comparatively 
simple,  and  a  little  observation  shows  that  their  solu- 
tion is  being  evolved  under  the  action  of  the  forces  at 
present  in  operation.  A  short  statement  of  physical 
and  biological  laws  will  therefore  be  a  useful  introduc- 
tion to  our  present  study. 

The  history  of  all  the  natural  sciences  is  usually 


2  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

divided  by  writers  on  the  subject  into  two  very  dis- 
tinct epochs.  In  the  first  of  these,  observations  are 
Law  in  made  and  facts  collected,  and  in  the  second 
Nature.  iaws  are  deduced  from  these  facts  and 
observations  which  are  useful  in  guiding  us  in  our 
expectation  of  what  will  happen  under  similar  condi- 
tions. In  the  first  stage  the  observations  may  be 
either  of  such  phenomena  as  occur  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  nature,  or  they  may  be  the  result  of  special 
arrangement  on  the  part  of  the  observer,  that  is  to 
say,  they  may  be  the  result  of  experiment ;  while  in 
the  second  stage  we  may  have  not  only  general  deduc- 
tions, but  also  mathematical  analysis  which  enables 
us  to  make  many  deductions  of  a  special  nature.  We 
have  therefore  really  four  distinct  stages  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  natural  and  physical  sciences,  namely 
those  of  observation,  theory,  analysis  and  experiment. 
Although  these  stages  have,  as  a  rule,  been  developed 
at  different  periods  and  very  often  by  different  indi- 
viduals, it  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  it  is  possible  to 
draw  a  strict  line  of  division  between  them,  for  they 
may  all  to  a  certain  extent  be  going  on  at  the  same 
time,  and  they  may  not  always  occur  in  their  natural 
order.  For  instance,  we  very  often  have  premature 
theory  before  sufficient  facts  have  been  collected  ;  we 
may  have  incomplete  analysis  before  all  the  condi- 
tions of  the  problems  have  been  discovered ;  and  we 
may  have  unsatisfactory  experiments  before  sufficient 
is  known  of  the  general  laws  which  guide  them,  and 
the  results  may  thus  be  uncertain.  Still  it  is  gener- 
ally true  that  observation,  theory,  analysis  and  experi- 
ment must  be  gone  through  before  any  subject  is 
worthy  of  the  name  of  science,  or  is  capable  of  scien- 


I  INTRODUCTORY  3 

tific  treatment.  When  the  laws  of  an  entire  class  of 
phenomena  have  been  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  sci- 
ence, that  is  to  say,  when  the  most  simple  system  of 
principles  has  been  discovered,  from  which  all  the 
formal  laws  of  the  class  of  phenomena  can  be  deduced 
as  consequences,  such  a  system,  with  its  deductions, 
constitutes  the  physical  theory  of  that  class  of  phe- 
nomena. 

It  would  take  us  far  beyond  our  present  scope  if 
we  considered  all  the  problems  which  arise  in  con- 
nection with  these  four  stages  of  science ;  the  only 
point  which  it  is  necessary  to  emphasise  in  the  mean- 
time is  that  every  theory  must  not  only  be  based  on 
facts,  but  be  tested  by  facts.  If  the  theory  is  found 
to  explain  all  or  very  nearly  all  the  observed  facts, 
and  is  opposed  to  none  of  them,  and  if,  moreover,  it 
is  confirmed  by  special  experiments,  then  that  theory 
is  said  to  be  true.  The  term  "true,"  however,  is  used 
only  in  a  relative  sense  as  indicating  that  the  theory 
sufficiently  explains  all  the  facts  which  have  been 
observed,  and  may  be  assumed  to  hold  with  regard  to 
facts  of  a  similar  nature  which  may  be  observed,  and 
may  therefore  be  used  for  predicting  what  will  happen 
in  the  future.  When  a  theory  has  been  deduced  in 
this  manner,  confirmed  by  analysis  and  established 
by  experiment,  it  is  said  to  be  a  Law  of  Nature,  and 
simply  states  the  order  in  which  things  have  been 
observed  to  happen.  When  exceptions  occur  or  when 
any  miracles  are  said  to  have  been  performed,  they 
show  that  the  law  requires  to  be  restated  or  extended. 
The  point  to  be  noted  is  that  there  is  nothing  abso- 
lute in  such  a  so-called  law:  it  is  not  a  fact,  but  only 
a  supposition  which  explains  all  or  almost  all  the  facts 


4  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

which  have  been  observed,  and  which  will  in  all  prob- 
ability explain  all  which  we  may  afterwards  observe. 
In  nature,  however,  the  probability  is  so  great  that  it 
may  be  assumed  as  quite  certain  for  all  the  practical 
purposes  of  life.  Science,  in  short,  is  simply  general- 
ised empiricism,  and  must  therefore  be  in  a  constant 
state  of  development,  and  the  science  of  to-day  will, 
in  many  cases,  be  the  empiricism  of  the  future. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  scientific  method  of 
investigating  phenomena  involves  not  only  the  use  of 
inductive  and  deductive  reasoning,  but  also  the  exer- 
cise of  imagination,  for  the  purpose  of  linking  the 
results  into  a  complete  theory,  so  that  this  latter 
faculty  is  quite  as  necessary  for  the  scientific  man  as 
for  the  poet.  Accordingly,  if  social  and  economic 
science  is  to  be  scientific  in  its  nature,  its  investi- 
gators must  not  only  study  facts  and  figures,  they 
must  also  be  prepared  to  clothe  these  with  ideals 
of  the  possibilities  of  the  future.  The  painters  of 
Utopias,  who  are  very  often  laughed  at  by  the  so- 
called  practical  men,  are  therefore  perfectly  scientific 
in  their  methods,  although  they  may  sometimes  allow 
their  imagination  to  get  the  better  of  their  reason. 
The  more  cautious  among  them  will  be  content  with 
ascertaining  present  tendencies  and  lines  of  develop- 
ment, and  indicating  what  appear  to  be  the  probable 
conditions  in  the  near  future. 

The  laws  of  the  expansion  and  the  compression  of 
gases  afford  very  good  illustrations  of  the 

Illustration  J     ° 

of  the  Use    use  of  theory,  and  also  of  the  limits  of  its 
application.     These  are  founded  on  the  sup- 
position that  the  gases  are  "perfect,"  and  therefore 
they   apply   only   approximately   to    ordinary   gases. 


I  INTRODUCTORY  e 

When,  therefore,  they  are  applied  to  problems  in 
which  steam  is  employed,  while  the  results  they  give 
may  be  useful  for  practical  purposes,  they  must  be 
used  with  great  care.  For  instance,  the  ordinary 
theory  of  the  steam-engine  is  founded  on  the  sup- 
position that  the  steam  in  the  cylinder  acts  as  a 
perfect  gas,  that  the  sides  of  the  cylinder  are  non- 
conducting, and  that  other  causes  of  loss  are  neg- 
lected. While  the  results  obtained  may  be  useful 
for  approximate  calculations,  they  require  to  be  sup- 
plemented by  practical  knowledge  of  the  class  of 
engine  under  consideration.  As  put  in  some  of  the 
text-books,  however,  a  theory  of  this  kind  is  apt  not 
only  to  lead  to  very  grave  mistakes,  but  also  to  hinder 
all  real  development.  For  instance,  if  it  had  been 
implicitly  believed,  it  would  have  prevented  the  great- 
est improvement  which  has  been  made  in  the  steam- 
engine  during  recent  years,  namely  the  multiple  ex- 
pansion of  the  steam.  The  science  of  thermo-dynamics 
indicated  the  directions  in  which  developments  ought 
to  take  place,  but  even  this  required  to  be  supple- 
mented by  experiment  and  observation  of  actual  en- 
gines before  the  real  philosophy  of  the  steam-engine 
could  be  understood.  Indeed,  notwithstanding  all 
that  has  been  done,  the  factors  involved  in  the  prob- 
lems are  so  numerous  that  a  complete  theory  of  the 
steam-engine  is  as  yet  impossible,  and  we  have  to  a 
very  large  extent  to  depend  on  practical  experience. 
If  this  be  the  case  with  the  steam-engine,  it  is  so  to 
a  much  greater  extent  with  social  science.  The  prob- 
lems connected  with  it  are  to  be  solved  by  studying 
actual  conditions,  and  it  is  only  when  the  conclusions 
derived  from  economical  considerations  are  brought 


6  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

into  harmony  with  the  physical,  biological  and  ethical 
conditions  necessary  for  social  welfare,  that  they  can 
be  accepted  as  guides  to  practical  life. 

We  sometimes  hear  it  said  that  certain  proposals 
are  contrary  to  the  laws  of  political  economy  or 
Economic    economics.      Such  an  opinion  rests   on  an 

Laws.  entire  misconception  of  the  idea  of  Law,  and 
especially  of  what  are  called  economic  laws.  These 
latter  do  not  tell  us  what  ought  to  happen,  or  what  it 
is  most  desirable  should  happen,  but  simply  what  will 
happen  under  given  economic  conditions,  in  short, 
what  will  be  the  effects  of  given  causes. 

Treatises  on  economics  trace  the  existing  state  of 
industry,  the  distribution  of  wealth,  and  other  eco- 
nomic conditions  to  certain  causes,  and  argue  that 
from  them  the  effects  inevitably  follow.  They  have 
in  fact,  however,  been  in  many  cases  little  more  than 
examples  of  abstract  logic  in  which  the  suppositions 
made  were  very  far  from  what  actually  occurred,  and 
consequently  the  conclusions  arrived  at  are  of  little 
use  in  practical  life,  without  considerable  modifica- 
tions. What  the  economists  have  got  to  do  is,  not  to 
sneer  at  any  proposed  legislation  or  organisation  of 
industry,  but  to  change  their  postulates  and  make 
them  more  in  agreement  with  the  actual  facts.  It  is 
quite  within  the  power  of  man  to  modify  the  causes 
which  are  at  work,  and  the  conditions  under  which  they 
act,  and  in  fact  change  the  objects  to  be  aimed  at. 

The  economics  required  for  the  production  of  noble, 
healthy  men  and  women  differ  entirely  from  those 
most  suited  for  the  production  of  cotton  cloth  at  a 
farthing  a  yard  less  than  our  Continental  competitors, 
and  so  on  with  other  conditions  which  might  be  sup- 


i  INTRODUCTORY  7 

posed.  The  laws  of  economics,  therefore,  vary  accord- 
ing to  the  circumstances  of  the  times  and  the  ideals 
which  men  may  have,  and  they  do  not  favour  one 
form  of  industrial  organisation  more  than  another, 
and  any  economist  who  says  so  proceeds  on  entirely 
unscientific  lines.  Law  in  the  physical  world  differs 
from  law  in  economics  chiefly  because  the  latter  deals 
with  reasoning  and  intelligent  beings,  and  it  is  this 
difference  which,  as  Professor  Hodgson  remarked, 
"in  the  human  sphere  translates  law  into  duty,  and 
the  must  of  the  physical  world  into  the  ought  of 
the  moral." 

The  methods  and  objects  of  economics  have  been 
described  by  Professor  W.  Cunningham  in  the  fol- 
lowing sentences  :  —  "The  so-called  laws  of  political 
economy  —  in  so  far  as  they  are  universal  in  form  — 
are  hypothetical  principles  which  it  is  convenient  to 
use  as  instruments  for  investigating  the  complicated 
phenomena  of  society ;  but  it  is  absurd  to  treat  mere 
instruments  of  investigation,  assumed  for  convenience* 
sake,  as  principles  for  practical  guidance.  Some  of 
the  so-called  laws  of  political  economy  have  a  different 
character,  since  they  are  generalisations  from  experi- 
ence :  they  tell  us  what  has  happened,  and  so  enable 
us  to  forecast  what  will  happen  under  any  similar 
conditions.  They  formulate  what  has  occurred  in 
the  past,  but  they  do  not  tell  us  what  ought  to  occur 
in  the  future  ;  they  neither  condemn  nor  approve 
what  is  yet  untried.  But  still  they  have  an  important 
bearing  on  any  such  proposal  as,  for  instance,  that  of 
a  living  wage  ;  the  empirical  generalisations  of  the 
economist  enable  us  to  forecast  the  probable  results 
of  the  living  was:e  on  business  relations  in  the  near 


8  THE  EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

future :  they  do  not  take  us  very  far  ahead,  because 
society  and  its  habits  are  always  changing  ;  but  they 
do  enable  us  to  make  an  intelligent  forecast  for  some 
little  way  ahead,  because  society  and  its  habits  change 
but  slowly.  Political  economy  does  not  approve  or 
condemn ;  it  gives  us  the  best  available  means  of 
forecasting  the  probable  result  of  some  change  in  its 
effects  on  the  material  prosperity  of  the  country  ;  the 
science  then  leaves  it  to  politicians  and  moralists  to 
approve  or  disapprove  of  the  project." 

On  the  same  subject  Professor  Marshall  has  re- 
marked: "It  is  sometimes  said  that  physical  laws  are 
more  universally  true  and  less  changeable  than  eco- 
nomic laws.  It  would  be  better  to  say  that  an  economic 
law  is  often  applicable  only  to  a  very  narrow  range 
of  circumstances  which  may  exist  together  at  one 
particular  place  and  time,  but  quickly  pass  away. 
When  they  are  gone,  the  law,  though  still  true  as  an 
abstract  proposition,  has  no  longer  any  practical  bear- 
ing ;  because  the  particular  set  of  causes  with  which 
it  deals  are  nowhere  to  be  found  acting  together 
without  important  disturbance  from  other  causes. 
Though  economic  reasoning  is  of  wide  application, 
we  cannot  insist  too  urgently  that  every  age  and  every 
country  has  its  own  problems  ;  and  that  every  change 
in  social  conditions  is  likely  to  require  a  new  develop- 
ment of  economic  doctrines."  1 

The  earliest  combinations  of  men  for  the  purpose 

of  supplying  their  daily  wants  led  to  a  cer- 
Wealth.  rr  j      t>  j 

tain  amount  of  organisation  and  division  of 
labour,    by   which   the   work   of   each    member   was 

Economics  of  Industry,  vol.  i.  p.  42. 


i  INTRODUCTORY  g 

restricted  to  the  supply  or  production  of  special 
articles.  This  necessitated  exchange  for  the  other 
necessaries  of  life,  a  transaction  which  gave  meaning 
to  the  term  value,  which  simply  denotes  the  amount 
of  commodities  which  can  be  obtained  in  exchange 
for  any  other  commodity,  so  that  division  of  labour 
and  exchange  had  the  same  origin.  As  industry 
progressed  tools  were  employed  in  production,  and 
these  having  gradually  become  more  powerful  and 
complicated,  were  called  machines.  These  have  been 
most  effective  factors  in  bringing  about  the  present 
social  and  economic  conditions. 

The  extension  of  crafts  and  industries  altered  the 
relations  of  the  people  to  the  land,  and  brought  about 
the  payment  of  rent  for  the  privilege  of  being  allowed 
to  cultivate  the  most  fertile  parts,  and,  moreover, 
increased  wealth  to  considerable  proportions.  Part 
of  this  wealth,  which  is  usually  called  capital,  was 
devoted  to  further  production  and  to  the  payment  of 
the  workers.  Hence  arose  the  classification  of  cap- 
italists and  labourers,  the  former  of  whom  obtain  not 
only  interest  on  the  money  which  they  have  invested, 
but  also  whatever  other  profits  they  can  make,  while 
the  latter  are  as  a  rule  only  paid  wages. 

For  my  present  purpose  it  is  not  necessary  to  pur- 
sue the  evolution  further,  as  my  chief  object  is  to 
consider  the  process  by  which  wealth  is  increased, 
and  to  infer  what  should  be  the  relative  claims  of  the 
labourer,  the  inventor,  the  director,  and  the  capitalist 
when  the  subject  is  looked  at  simply  from  a  physical 
point  of  view.  How  far  these  claims  may  be  modified 
when  looked  at  from  a  social  point  of  view  must  be 
decided    by  ethics  and  by  practical  politics,  and  on 


IO  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

this  subject  I  will  make  a  few  remarks  further 
on. 

John  Stuart  Mill  said  that  "every  one  has  a  notion, 
sufficiently  correct  for  common  purposes,  of  what  is 
meant  by  wealth."  In  economic  investigations,  how- 
ever, we  must  endeavour  to  arrive  at  more  exact 
notions  if  we  are  to  obtain  conclusions  which  are  to 
be  of  much  use. 

In  its  more  general  sense,  some  economists  now 
define  personal  wealth  so  as  to  include  all  those  ener- 
gies, faculties,  and  habits  which  contribute  to  making 
people  industrially  efficient,  together  with  those  busi- 
ness connections  and  associations  of  any  kind  which 
are  reckoned  as  part  of  wealth  in  the  narrower  sense 
of  the  term.  The  economists  of  the  German  school 
lay  special  stress  on  the  non-material  elements  of 
national  wealth,  and  include  scientific  knowledge, 
mechanical  inventions,  improvements  in  the  methods 
of  production,  literature  and  fine  art,  and  the  organi- 
sation of  the  State,  as  important  factors  in  national 
wealth.  Many  writers,  however,  use  the  term  in  a 
much  narrower  sense.  The  Duke  of  Argyll  has  said : 
"  Look  what  the  economists  have  done  for  you.  They 
have  degraded  the  word  '  wealth '  into  the  possession 
of  lumps  of  matter.  They  say  that  wealth  must  be 
something  material.  Well,  the  meaning  of  the  word 
'weal'  was  once  the  same  as  in  the  word  'common- 
weal.' It  is  our  business  and  duty  not  to  look  merely 
at  material  things,  but  it  is  part  of  our  economic 
science,  I  maintain,  to  look  at  all  that  constitutes  the 
weal  of  human  society.  You  may  expatiate  as  you 
like,  in  all  the  fields  of  human  thought  that  bear  upon 
the  welfare  of  the  human  family,  and  do  not  let  the 


i  INTRODUCTORY  t  r 

economist  tell  you  you  are  going  out  of  your  field  and 
out  of  your  science  in  so  doing."  1 

While  the  importance  of  these  considerations  is 
universally  admitted,  the  majority  of  economists  hold 
that  they  come  within  the  sphere  of  practical  politics 
rather  than  of  economics,  and  that  it  is  convenient  to 
define  wealth  as  consisting  in  the  relative- weal-consti- 
tuting elements  in  man's  material  environment.  It 
is  therefore  objective  to  the  user,  material,  useful,  and 
appropriable.2  Reserving  a  broader  term  to  designate 
well-being  in  general,  usage  has  employed  the  word 
"wealth"  to  signify,  first,  the  comparative  welfare 
resulting  from  material  possessions,  and  secondly,  and 
by  a  transfer,  the  possessions  themselves. 

Even  with  this  restriction,  however,  it  is  possible 
to  make  the  science  of  economics,  or  of  the  produc- 
tion of  wealth,  to  rest  on  a  wider  basis  than  hitherto, 
and  to  include  not  only  the  physical,  but  also  the 
biological  and  ethical  conditions  of  human  welfare. 
We  will  consider  shortly  what  these  conditions  are, 
and  we  shall  see  that,  while  the  physical  involve  only 
the  greatest  quantity,  the  biological  and  ethical  require, 
not  only  the  highest  quality,  but  also  the  justest  dis- 
tribution of  wealth. 

The  production  of  "perpetual  motion"  was  for  a 
long  time  the  dream  of  enthusiasts,  and  although  its 
impossibility  is  now  recognised  by  all  who  Law  of  the 
have  had  any  training  in  science,  many  de-  tion  anda 
signs   are    still   made  which    unconsciously  ^^'dT* 
assume    its    possibility.       From     Newton's   Energy. 
Third  Law  of  Motion  it  follows  that  the  energy  ex- 

1  Aspects  of  Modern  Study,  p.  152  (Macmillan  and  Co.,  1894). 

2  Cf.  Professor  J.  B.  Clark.  Philosophy  of  IVea/th,  p.  4. 


!2  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

erted  on  any  system  or  machine  has  its  equivalent 
in  the  work  done,  some  of  which  may  be  useful  and 
some  useless.  The  latter  includes  what  is  spent  on 
friction  and  other  useless  resistances.  It  must  always 
be  distinctly  recognised  that  no  ingenuity  can  in- 
crease the  amount  on  the  right-hand  side  of  this  fun- 
damental equation,  although  it  may  be  transformed 
in  a  great  variety  of  ways. 

The  Law  of  the  Conservation  of  Energy  states 
this  in  general  terms,  and  asserts  that  it  is  just  as 
impossible  to  create  or  destroy  energy  as  it  is  to 
create  or  destroy  matter.  The  only  way  of  estab- 
lishing the  truth  of  such  a  law  is  by  trying  it  in 
a  number  of  cases,  and  if  it  succeed  in  explaining 
the  peculiarities  of  each  case,  we  have  strong  grounds 
for  believing  its  truth.  The  Law  of  the  Conserva- 
tion of  Energy  has  been  tried  in  a  very  large  number 
of  cases,  and  not  only  has  it  stood  the  test,  but  it  has 
also  helped  us  in  finding  out  new  facts  and  laws  of 
matter.  This  law  is  therefore  only  an  intelligent  and 
well-supported  denial  of  the  possibility  of  perpetual 
motion. 

All  schemes  which  aim  at  perpetual  motion  leave 
out  of  account  the  effects  of  friction,  which  absorb 
a  certain  part  of  the  energy  exerted,  and  thus  reduce 
the  amount  of  useful  work  done.  The  conditions  of 
maximum  efficiency  in  any  organism  or  machine 
require  that  no  energy  shall  be  exerted  with  useless 
results  which  can  be  avoided,  that  friction  (which 
cannot  be  altogether  got  rid  of)  shall  be  reduced  to 
a  minimum,  and  that  the  various  parts  shall  be  duly 
co-ordinated  the  one  to  the  other.  An  industrial 
organisation  must  conform  with  similar  conditions,  a 


INTRODUCTORY 


13 


fact  which  we  must  remember  when  considering  the 
various  movements  which  are  going  on  in  the  indus- 
trial world. 

It  is  in  the  design  of  heat-engines  that  we  most 
frequently  see  violations  of  the  law  at  the  present 
day,  for  in  the  ordinary  mechanical  arrangements 
there  is  little  difficulty  in  perceiving  the  absurdity  of 
attempting  to  create  energy.  Although  we  may  con- 
vert the  whole  of  a  given  amount  of  energy  into  heat, 
we  cannot  convert  all  the  energy  of  heat  back  again 
into  work,  and  in  the  most  perfect  heat-engine  a  large 
portion  of  the  heat  is  dissipated,  and  will  continue 
to  be  dissipated  however  perfect  our  engine  may 
become.  In  short,  the  process  of  the  conversion  of 
work  into  heat  is  not  a  completely  reversible  process, 
and  on  this  fact  Sir  W.  Thomson  (Lord  Kelvin)  has 
founded  his  theory  of  the  Dissipation  of  Energy.  In 
its  most  general  form  this  theory  asserts  that  the 
temperature-energy  of  the  universe  is  gradually  being 
dissipated  into  space,  and  that  there  is  going  on  a 
reduction  of  temperature  which  will  ultimately  bring 
the  whole  system  to  a  state  of  uniform  temperature 
and  make  it  worthless  so  far  as  the  production  of 
wealth  is  concerned,  since  such  production  depends 
upon  difference  of  temperature.  Although,  there- 
fore, there  is,  in  a  strictly  dynamical  sense,  a  conser- 
vation of  energy,  yet  as  regards  usefulness  or  fitness 
for  living  beings  as  at  present  constituted  the  energy 
of  the  universe  is  in  a  process  of  deterioration,  which 
compels  us  to  contemplate  the  ultimate  extinction  of 
existing  animal  and  vegetable  life,  probably  however 
to  give  place  to  other  kinds  of  which  at  present  we 
can  form  no  conception. 


14  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

The  most  evident  lesson  to  be  learnt  in  connection 
with  economics  and  industry  from  the  physical  prin- 
ciples which  we  have  been  considering  is  that 

Applica-  l  . 

tionstoEc-  no  amount  of  ingenuity  can  produce  work 
without  the  expenditure  of  energy  in  some 
shape  or  form,  and  that  those  who  do  not  take  a  fair 
share  in  this  expenditure  must  be  dependent  on  the  en- 
ergy exerted  by  others.  The  Law  of  the  Conservation 
of  Energy  therefore  enables  us  to  determine  the  eco- 
nomic value  of  each  member  of  the  community.  A 
discussion  of  the  other  consequences  of  this  law,  as 
for  instance  their  bearings  on  the  time-honoured  dis- 
putes connected  with  interest  and  intrinsic  value, 
would  take  us  into  many  departments  of  economics, 
but  our  present  limits  allow  us  to  note  only  a  few  of 
the  points  which  are  applied  in  the  sequel. 

In  the  physical  world  there  are  a  great  many  forms 
of  energy.  Some,  such  as  for  instance  those  of  vis- 
ible motion,  of  position  and  of  heat,  are  very  evident ; 
but  others,  such  as  electricity,  radiation  and  molecu- 
lar action,  are  very  obscure,  although  they  may  be  the 
most  powerful.  So  in  the  domains  of  economics  and 
sociology,  if  we  wish  to  apply  physical  principles,  we 
must  remember  that  the  term  "energy"  should  be 
used  in  its  general  sense,  and  not  by  any  means  be 
confined  to  dynamical  efforts  which  result  in  manual 
work,  but  include  both  intellectual  and  spiritual 
efforts,  which  may  have  very  important  dynamical 
equivalents. 

There  is  a  tendency  at  the  present  day  to  attach 
undue  importance  to  mechanical  work,  and  to  forget 
that  intellectual  and  spiritual  work  is  often  the  most 
important.     Even  what  is  usually  considered  wealth 


INTRODUCTORY 


15 


is  not  simply  the  result  of  manual  toil  or  of  even 
social  labour,  but  of  both  of  these  multiplied  by  ability, 
a  fact  which  ought  to  be  carefully  remembered  when 
discussing  the  methods  to  be  followed  in  social  reform. 
Even  Adam  Smith  began  his  great  treatise  on  The 
Wealth  of  Nations  with  the  statement  that  "  the  an- 
nual labour  of  every  nation  is  the  fund  which  originally 
supplies  it  with  all  the  necessaries  and  conveniences 
of  life  which  it  annually  consumes,  and  which  consist 
always  either  in  the  immediate  produce  of  labour,  or 
in  what  is  purchased  with  that  produce  from  other 
nations."  In  this  sentence  we  recognise  the  influence 
on  Smith  of  the  French  physiocrats.  Without  expla- 
nation, it  is  not  quite  accurate,  and  has  led  to  wrong 
impressions  of  Smith's  opinions.  He  did  not  by  any 
means  ignore  the  other  factors  in  wealth-production, 
like  some  of  the  recent  writers  on  the  subject. 

Henry  George,  for  instance,  says  :  "  Nature  gives 
wealth  to  labour  and  to  nothing  but  labour."  This 
and  many  other  similar  opinions  which  are  beginning 
to  prevail  at  the  present  day  are,  indeed,  but  a  return 
to  the  Canonist  doctrine  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Medi- 
aeval writers  saw  but  two  factors  in  production,  namely, 
land  and  labour.  "  The  land  was  the  ultimate  source 
of  all  wealth  ;  but  it  needed  human  labour  to  win  from 
it  what  it  was  able  to  provide.  Labour,  therefore,  as 
the  one  element  in  production  which  depended  on  the 
human  will,  became  the  centre  of  their  doctrine.  All 
wealth  was  due  to  the  employment  of  labour  on  the 
materials  furnished  by  nature ;  and  only  by  proving 
that  labour  had  been  engaged  in  bringing  about  the 
result  could  the  acquisition  of  wealth  by  individuals 
be  justified.     'God  and  the  labourer,'  as  one  widely- 


1 6  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

read  theologian  expressed  it,  'are  the  true  lords  of  all 
that  serves  for  the  use  of  man.  All  others  are  either 
distributors  or  beggars '  ;  and  he  goes  on  to  explain 
that  the  clergy  and  gentry  are  debtors  to  the  husband- 
men and  craftsmen,  and  only  deserve  their  higher 
honour  and  reward  so  far  as  they  fitly  perform  their 
duties  as  '  ruling  classes,'  which  involve  greater  labour 
and  greater  peril."  1 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Canonist  doctrine  has  a 
close  resemblance  to  the  principles  held  by  the  mod- 
ern socialists,  and  that  both  overlook  the  place  which 
intelligence,  skill  and  capital  take  in  the  production 
of  wealth.  Labour  by  itself  may  indeed  involve  a 
great  expenditure  of  energy,  but  unless  properly 
directed  it  will  never  increase  wealth,  but  on  the 
contrary  rather  diminish  it.  All  labour  involves  a 
consumption  of  potential  energy,  and  there  can  be  an 
addition  to  wealth  only  when,  in  exchange  for  the 
potential  energy  consumed  by  the  labourer,  another 
and  larger  quantity  is  made  available  for  human  use, 
a  result  which  as  a  rule  can  only  be  brought  about  by 
properly-directed  skill.  The  most  important  eco- 
nomic fact  of  the  modern  world  is  the  constant  in- 
crease of  the  amount  of  wealth  that  results  from  the 
exertions  of  the  same  number  of  men  ;  and  the  cause 
of  this  has  not  been  the  mere  manual  labour,  but  the 
gradual  concentration  of  the  moral  and  intellectual 
faculties  of  exceptional  men,  either  in  discovering 
processes,  inventing  machines  or  directing  labour,  all 
of  which  is  included  under  the  general  name  of 
"ability."     It  is  to  the  increasing  operation  of  this 

1  Ashley,  Economic  History  and  Theory,  Part  II.  p.  393. 


INTRODUCTORY 


17 


ability  that  a  great  part  of  the  increment  of  wealth  is 
due.  While,  therefore,  we  may  be  willing  to  admit 
that  in  the  near  future  there  will  not  be  so  great  a 
difference  between  the  scales  of  remuneration  of 
skilled  and  unskilled  labour  as  there  is  at  present,  it 
is  quite  evident  that  human  nature  and  science  alike 
demand  the  recognition  of  the  justice  of  a  consider- 
able difference.  It  would  be  just  as  absurd  to  deny 
that  great  inventors  and  organisers  are  very  powerful 
factors  in  the  production  of  wealth  as  it  would  be  to 
deny  that  great  generals  are  of  more  value  than  com- 
mon soldiers,  or  great  poets  than  ordinary  labourers. 

Carlyle  said  :  "  Two  men  I  honour  and  no  third. 
First,  the  toil-worn  craftsman  that  with  earth-made 
Implement  laboriously  conquers  the  earth,  and  makes 
her  man's.  Venerable  to  me  is  the  hard  Hand ; 
crooked,  coarse ;  wherein  notwithstanding  lies  a  cun- 
ning virtue,  indefensibly  royal,  as  of  the  Sceptre  of 
this  Planet.  Venerable  too  is  the  rugged  face,  all 
weather-tanned,  besoiled,  with  its  rude  intelligence, 
for  it  is  the  face  of  a  Man  living  manlike,  .  .  . 

"  A  second  man  I  honour,  and  still  more  highly : 
Him  who  is  seen  toiling  for  the  spiritually  indispen- 
sable ;  not  daily  bread,  but  the  Bread  of  Life.  Is 
not  he  too  in  his  duty ;  endeavouring  towards  inward 
Humanity;  revealing  this,  by  act  or  by  word,  through 
all  his  outward  endeavours,  be  they  high  or  low  ? 
Highest  of  all  when  his  outward  and  his  inward 
endeavour  are  one ;  when  we  can  name  him  Artist ; 
not  earthly  Craftsman  only,  but  inspired  Thinker, 
who  with  heaven-made  Implement  conquers  Heaven 
for  us  !  If  the  poor  and  humble  toil  that  we  have 
Food,  must  not  the  high  and  glorious  toil  for  him  in 


1 8  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

return,  that  he  have  Light,  have  Guidance,  Freedom, 
Immortality?  —  These  two,  in  all  their  degrees,  I 
honour ;  all  else  is  chaff  and  dust,  which  let  the  wind 
blow  whither  it  listeth."  1 

The  definition  of  useful  worker  must  therefore  be 
made  wide  enough  to  include  all  who  render  efficient 
social  service.  Whether  by  pen  or  pick,  whether  by 
voice  or  by  hammer  and  chisel,  whether  in  the  factory 
or  in  the  mine,  whether  as  director,  distributer  or 
producer,  whether  in  the  Local  Governing  Bodies  or 
in  the  Imperial  Legislature,  all  who  take  a  fair  share 
1/  of  work  which  tends  to  improve  the  economic,  social, 
material,  mental  or  moral  conditions  of  the  people, 
are  useful  workers,  and  deserve  a  fair  wage  in  return 
for  their  work. 

Remembrance  of  this  definition  would  to  a  large 
extent  prevent  the  fundamental  dispute  between 
different  schools  of  thought  on  social  and  economic 
subjects,  and  reconcile  the  claims  of  labour  and  of 
ability.  If  we  consider,  as  is  sometimes  done,  that 
mental  qualities  or  social  position,  whether  hereditary 
or  acquired,  are  capital,  some  of  the  cases  mentioned 
in  the  above  definition  are  illustrations  of  the  combi- 
nation of  labour  and  capital.  The  economists  gener- 
ally point  out  that  labour  without  the  assistance  of 
ability  would  not  only  be  much  less  efficient,  but  in 
many  cases  would  result  in  positive  loss  of  energy 
and  waste  of  wealth  ;  whereas  the  socialists  to  a  very 
large  extent  deny  the  claims  of  ability,  and  would 
treat  it  very  much  as  they  are  inclined  to  treat  mate- 
rial capital,  that  is,  appropriate  it  without  return  of 
any  kind. 

1  Sartor  Resartus,  Book  III.  chap.  iv. 


INTRODUCTORY 


19 


The  question  ultimately  resolves  itself  into  one  of 
ethics.  Carlyle  said  :  "  It  is  a  calumny  on  men  to  say 
that  they  are  raised  to  heroic  action  by  ease,  hope  of 
pleasure,  recompense,  —  sugar-plums  of  any  kind  in 
this  world  or  the  next.  In  the  meanest  mortal  there 
lies  something  nobler.  The  poor  swearing  soldier, 
hired  to  be  shot,  has  the  '  honour  of  a  soldier,'  differ- 
ent from  drill  regulations  and  the  shilling  a  day.  It 
is  not  to  taste  sweet  things  but  to  do  noble  and  true 
things,  and  vindicate  himself  under  God's  Heaven  as 
a  God-made  Man,  that  the  poorest  son  of  Adam  dimly 
longs.  Show  him  the  way  of  doing  that,  the  dullest 
day  drudge  kindles  into  a  hero." 

While  no  doubt  this  is  true,  a  little  experience  of  Ql£k 
actual  conditions  is  sufficient  to  show  us  that,  without  a 
the  incentive  of  personal  reward,  men  as  at  present 
constituted  would  not  exert  themselves  to  perform  a  -C^U 
great  part  in  the  work  of  the  world.  We  are  some- 
times reminded  by  enthusiastic  altruists  that  clever 
business  men,  manufacturers  or  organisers,  who  take 
advantage  of  their  ability  and  their  opportunities 
simply  to  advance  their  own  individual  interests,  are 
all  savages  or  remnants  of  our  brutal  ancestors.  That 
in  a  sense  is  true,  but  such  survivals  will  be  common 
for  many  a  day,  and  their  existence  cannot  be  ignored. 
A  healthy  civic  and  social  spirit  must  be  engendered 
by  improved  education  and  by  all  the  other  intellec- 
tual and  moral  means  which  can  be  employed.  Those 
imbued  with  this  spirit  would  find  their  best  reward 
in  having  performed  effective  social  service,  but  mean- 
time it  ought  to  be  recognised  that  both  physical 
science  and  observation  of  actual  conditions  commend 
a  higher  rate  of  remuneration  to  ability  and  energy 


2o  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

than  to  commonplace  efficiency,  and  certainly  than  to 
stupidity  and  laziness. 

While  admitting  that  the  altruistic  spirit  in  society 
is  not  to  be  brought  about  simply  by  enactment,  still, 
judicious  legislation  and  wise  administration  might  do 
a  great  deal  to  curtail  the  power  of  wrong-doing  and 
to  reduce  the  inequality  in  economic  and  social  condi- 
tions. The  evolution  in  this  direction  might  be  fur- 
ther helped  by  the  combinations  of  employers  and 
employed,  or  by  the  industrial  guilds,  which  we  will 
explain  further  on.  We  may  rest  assured  that  the 
day  is  very  far  distant  when  all  will  be  paid  alike,  for 
this  presupposes  a  moral  state  of  society  which  it  is 
difficult  even  to  imagine  now.  Such  a  state  will  only 
be  possible  in  the  millennium,  when  there  will  be  no 
need  to  discuss  laws  of  any  kind,  for  each  one  will  be 
a  law  unto  himself,  and  the  impulse  for  doing  what  is 
right  will  come  entirely  from  within.  In  the  mean- 
time, however,  we  must  be  content  with  a  slow  process 
of  evolution  in  the  direction  of  perfect  unselfishness 
and  of  higher  ideals  of  duty.  We  will  later  on  con- 
sider some  of  the  special  aspects  of  wages,  and  at 
present  we  can  only  note  some  of  the  general  condi- 
tions which  should  regulate  them. 

With  regard  to  the  ordinary  socialist  theory  Pro- 
fessor von  Wieser  has  remarked  that  "  the  socialists 
would  have  us  believe  that  the  value  of  every  kind  of 
labour  should  be  estimated  simply  according  to  time; 
that  is  to  say,  the  duration  of  the  service  should  alone 
decide  its  value  relative  to  other  labour,  —  which 
assumes,  of  course,  that  slovenly  labour  is  reduced  to 
earnest  labour,  unskilled  to  skilled  labour.  This  is 
the  extent  to  which  the  quality  of  the  labour  would 


x  INTRODUCTORY  21 

be  taken  into  consideration,  but  no  further.  Those 
differences  of  quality  which  reside  in  the  task  set 
before  the  labourer  are  left  quite  out  of  consideration. 
Common  manual  labour,  higher  artisan  labour,  supe- 
rior mental  labour,  are  all  to  be  regarded  as  equal. 
Does  it  require  any  special  proof  that  this  is  contrary 
to  the  natural  laws  of  valuation,  and  that  no  economy 
could  last  which  treated  its  division  of  labour  in  this 
way  ? "  * 

The  Bishop  of  Durham  may  be  taken  as  represent- 
ing those  socialists  who  have  not  only  very  carefully 
thought  out  economic  and  social  problems,  but  are  at 
the  same  time  imbued  with  a  deeply  religious  spirit 
which  impels  them  to  unselfish  service  for  the  good 
of  the  community,  and  his  opinions  on  this  subject 
are  well  worthy  of  attention.  He  says  :  "  Socialism, 
as  I  have  defined  it,  is  not  committed  to  any  one  line 
of  action,  but  every  one  who  accepts  its  central 
thought  will  recognise  certain  objects  for  immediate 
effort.  He  will  seek  to  secure  that  labour  shall  be 
acknowledged  in  its  proper  dignity  as  the  test  of 
manhood,  and  that  its  reward  shall  be  measured,  not 
by  the  necessities  of  the  indigent,  but  by  its  actual 
value  as  contributing  to  the  wealth  of  the  community. 
He  will  strive  to  place  masses  of  men  who  have  no 
reserve  of  means  in  a  position  of  stability,  and  to 
quicken  them  by  generous  ideas.  He  will  be  bold  to 
proclaim  that  the  evils  of  luxury  and  penury  cannot 
be  met  by  palliatives.  He  will  claim  that  all  should 
confess  in  action  that  every  power,  every  endowment, 
every  possession,  is  not  of  private  use,  but  a  trust  to 

1  Natural  Value,  p.  162  (Macmillan  and  Co.). 


22  THE  EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

be  administered  in  the  name  of  the  Father  for  their 
fellow-men."  1  After  pointing  out  the  main  steps  in 
the  evolution  of  society,  he  proceeds  :  "  Our  position, 
then,  is  one  of  expectancy  and  preparation,  but  we 
can  see  the  direction  of  the  social  movement.  We 
wait  for  the  next  stage  in  the  growth  of  the  State 
when  in  full  and  generous  co-operation  each  citizen 
shall  offer  to  the  body  the  fulness  of  his  own  life,  that 
he  may  rejoice  in  the  fulness  of  the  life  of  the  body." 
At  the  same  time  there  is  a  growing  tendency  for 
the  reward  of  ability  to  decrease,  not  only  on  account 
of  the  better  education  of  the  masses  of  the  people, 
but  also  because  of  improving  social  conditions.  After 
all  it  is  not  a  very  revolutionary  assumption  to  suppose 
that  a  leader  of  industry  should  be  satisfied  with  a 
reward  which  satisfied  a  Newton,  a  Watt,  a  Darwin, 
or  a  Faraday.  Newton  laid  the  foundations  of  modern 
physics  and  astronomy,  and  made  possible  many  of  the 
recent  advances  in  science  and  its  applications  to 
industry.  Watt  did  more  to  increase  the  means  of 
useful  production  in  proportion  to  population  than 
the  advent  of  thousands  of  ordinary  lives  does  to 
decrease  the  products.  Darwin  was  the  means  of 
revolutionising  almost  every  department  of  human 
thought  and  action  ;  while  Faraday  by  his  researches 
led  to  the  great  developments  of  the  applications  of 
electricity,  which  are  ultimately  likely  to  change  not 
only  the  nature  of  our  machinery,  but  also  to  affect 
industrial  organisation  profoundly.  All  that  such 
men  ask  is  a  modest  assured  income  and  abundant 
tools  and  implements  for  their  work.  Love  of  this 
work  and  emulation  supply  sufficient  motives  for  their 

1  The  Incarnation  and  Common  Life,  p.  228. 


INTRODUCTORY 


23 


exertions.  Even  in  the  industrial  world,  wages  are 
becoming  of  secondary  importance  to  those  who  are 
taking  the  lead  in  the  movements  which  are  tend- 
ing to  the  reorganisation  of  society.  Among  the  co- 
operators,  for  instance,  we  find  men  managing,  with 
the  highest  efficiency,  concerns  of  great  extent  and 
importance  for  salaries  smaller  than  those  of  bank 
clerks.  They  find  their  real  salaries  in  the  success 
of  their  work,  and  in  the  knowledge  that  it  will  lead, 
not  simply  to  individual  riches,  but  to  the  welfare  of 
the  community,  and  especially  of  the  workers. 

Moreover,  it  must  be  recognised  that  a  great  part 
of  what  is  at  present  considered  the  reward  of  ability 
does  not  really  deserve  the  name,  being  rather  the 
result  of  social  opportunity  derived  from  the  posses- 
sion of  wealth.  If  educational  opportunities  were 
equalised  and  economic  disadvantages  removed,  there 
would  be  an  increasing  tendency  for  the  enormous 
fortunes  of  individuals  to  be  reduced  to  nearly  the 
general  level.  Very  often  writers  on  this  subject 
confuse  the  proprietary  classes  with  the  productive 
classes,  the  holders  of  ability  with  the  holders  of  land 
and  capital,  and  the  mere  dividend  and  rent  drawing 
parasites  with  the  organisers  of  industry,  forgetful 
of  the  fact  that  many  of  the  wealthy  classes  have 
obtained  their  advantages  by  monopoly  or  fraud  or 
robbery  in  some  shape  or  other,  or  have  inherited 
them  from  ancestors  who  had  so  obtained  them. 

The  consideration  of  the  position  of  Capital  in  the 
production  of  wealth  opens  up  many  problems  on 
which  there  might  be  long  discussions.1     The  ma- 

1  Cf.  The  Positive  Theory  of  Capital.     By  Eugen  V.  Bohm-Bawerk. 

Macmillan  and  Co. 


24  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

jority  of  people,  however,  are  willing  to  admit  that 
Capital  is  the  portion  of  wealth  (excluding  land  and 
natural  agents,  considered  as  unimproved)  employed 
in  the  production  of  new  forms  of  wealth ;  and  that 
generally  it  is  used  to  supply  subsistence,  tools  and 
materials  to  the  workers  until  they  have  been  able  to 
obtain  effective  results.  It  may  thus  be  looked  upon 
as  stored  work,  which  may  be  used  for  rendering 
available  the  potential  energy  of  nature.  In  a  sense, 
therefore,  Capital  itself  is  a  tool,  and,  like  other  tools, 
it  requires  ability  to  make  it  effective.  It  gives  time 
to  labour  to  avail  itself  of  those  powers  of  nature 
which  can  be  made  available  only  after  a  considerable 
expenditure  of  energy  and  a  considerable  interval  of 
time. 

While  we  may  criticise  the  socialist  conception  of 
the  position  of  wealth  in  the  production  of  work,  we 
must  recognise  the  truth  that  there  is  in  it.  "  How- 
ever the  growth  of  wealth  and  industry  disguises  the 
fact,  in  all  production  of  wealth  there  are  only  two 
original  forces  at  work — nature's  powers  and  man's 
powers.  Human  powers,  as  always  limited,  and  as 
always  put  forth  '  at  the  cost  of '  brain  or  tissue,  are 
all  '  economic ' ;  but  in  the  great  treasury  of  natural 
forces  there  are  some  powers  so  universal  in  their 
scope  and  working  that  they  do  not  enter  into  calcu- 
lations of  cost.  As  we  say,  using  two  phrases  whose 
full  significance  we  do  not  always  realise,  we  do  not 
'economise'  the  free  gifts  of  nature — they  'cost' 
us  nothing ;  although  they  enter  into  the  operations 
of  all  production,  they  do  not  enter  into  'economic' 
consideration.  The  original  factors  of  production, 
then,  are   man   and   nature;    the   strictly   economic 


INTRODUCTORY 


25 


factors  of  production  are  labour  and  those  natural 
forces  (called  by  metonymy  land)  which  are  limited 
and  capable  of  being  monopolised.  But  Capital,  how- 
ever much  credit  it  gets  and  deserves  for  its  work 
in  present-day  production,  is  no  independent  factor 
alongside  of  these.  In  one  aspect  it  may  be  called 
'  stored-up  labour,'  in  another  —  and  more  truly  — 
'  natural  force  stored  up  by  labour ' ;  but  in  Capital 
itself,  alike  in  its  origin  and  its  working,  there  is 
nothing  that  is  not  accounted  for  by  the  other  two 
factors."  l  The  position  of  Capital  in  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  industry  of  the  future  will  be  noted  when 
we  have  considered  the  general  process  of  evolution 
which  is  going  on,  and  we  shall  see  that  it  is  subject 
to  the  same  influences  as  the  other  means  of  pro- 
duction. 

It  must  be  noted  in  the  meantime,  however,  that  a 
great  deal  of  what  is  called  personal  capital  —  that  is, 
the  portion  of  a  person's  wealth  by  which  he  obtains 
his  living — does  not  conform  to  the  definition  we 
have  given  of  Capital,  for  it  renders  no  help  in  the 
production  of  new  forms  of  wealth.  Even  Adam 
Smith's  definition  of  individual  capital  as  "  stock 
which  is  expected  to  afford  a  revenue"  is  not  very 
satisfactory,  for  it  may  be  that,  while  it  affords  a 
revenue  to  its  owner,  it  does  little  or  nothing  to  give 
employment  to  labour,  or  to  increase  the  wealth  of 
the  nation.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  merely  a  first 
charge  on  industrial  undertakings  or  on  the  revenue 
of  the  nation ;  and  while  it  enriches  individuals,  it 
tends  to  impoverish  the  community.     The  National 

1  W.  Smart.  In  Preface  to  The  Positive  Theory  of  Capital,  p.  vii. 
By  Bohm-Bawerk. 


26  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

Debt,  for  instance,  only  represents  the  past  folly  of 
our  statesmen,  and  cannot  be  considered  real  Capital. 
Few  economists  now  agree  with  Lord  Macaulay's 
high  praises  of  this  kind  of  stock,  at  least  in  its 
present  form,  although  they  would  not  object  to  it  if 
it  were  gradually  converted  into  a  national  pension 
fund  for  aged  and  infirm  workers.  Then  again,  much 
of  the  so-called  capital  in  industrial  enterprises  is  of  a 
fictitious  character,  and  has  been  calculated,  not  on 
the  actual  money  spent,  but  on  the  capitalised  income 
of  a  monopoly.  It  thus  never  had  any  real  existence, 
and  has  been  correctly  described  as  the  tribute  which 
is  exacted  from  the  community  by  a  small  number  of 
privileged  persons. 

A  recognition  of  the  Law  of  the  Conservation  of 
Energy  enables  us  to  estimate  the  economic  value  of 
different  forms  of  expenditure  either  of  wealth  or 
of  labour.  Even  economists  of  the  orthodox  type 
admit  that,  in  an  economic  aspect,  expenditure  on 
luxuries  is  a  wasteful  perversion  of  wealth.  We  not 
infrequently,  however,  hear  it  said  that  it  all  helps  to 
make  work.  Now  it  should  be  distinctly  understood 
that  the  prosperity  of  a  country  does  not  depend  on 
the  amount  of  its  work,  but  on  its  reward.  Although 
energy  cannot  be  destroyed,  it  may  be  dissipated 
and  rendered  unavailable  for  useful  purposes  ;  and 
although  money  spent  on  luxuries  gives  a  certain 
amount  of  work,  this  terminates  in  itself  and  has 
little  direct  economic  significance.  Those,  therefore, 
who  indulge  in  luxuries  should  be  quite  frank  and  say 
that  they  do  so  because  they  like  them,  and  not 
because  they  think  that  it  is  the  best  use  to  which 
they  can  put  their  money.     At  the  same  time,  taking 


INTRODUCTORY 


27 


men  as  they  are  at  present  constituted,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  wish  to  obtain  luxuries  is  an  incen- 
tive which  urges  them  to  action  that  has  great  eco- 
nomic results.  This  incentive  will,  however,  become 
less  powerful  as  the  social  spirit  improves,  and  will  be 
replaced  by  the  wish  to  make  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity as  full  and  complete  as  possible.  Men  will 
recognise  that  the  Law  of  the  Conservation  of  Energy 
holds  not  only  in  the  physical  and  economic  worlds, 
but  also  in  the  regions  of  intellectual,  moral  and 
spiritual  efforts,  and  the  meaning  of  Carlyle's  saying 
will  be  clearly  understood :  "  One  way  or  another,  all 
the  light,  energy  and  available  virtue  which  we  have 
does  come  out  of  us,  and  goes  very  infallibly  into 
God's  treasury,  living  and  working  through  eternities 
there.  We  are  not  lost  —  not  a  single  atom  of  us  — 
of  one  of  us."  This  is  another  illustration  that  true 
.science  always  agrees  with  true  religion  and  brings 
us  the  light  we  need  for  courageous  endurance.  The 
crown  of  social  service  is  to  know  that  this  service, 
however  barren  it  may  appear  at  the  moment,  will 
bear  fruit  in  after  time.  These  facts  are  being  slowly 
recognised  by  economists,  whose  conclusions  are  be- 
ginning, not  only  to  be  guided  by  ethics,  but  also  to 
rest  on  an  intelligent  understanding  of  the  principles 
of  physics  and  biology.  We  will  therefore  find  it 
convenient  to  study  shortly  the  conditions  of  devel- 
opment in  nature  generally,  and  some  of  their  appli- 
cations to  individuals  and  to  communities. 


CHAPTER   II 

CONDITIONS    OF    DEVELOPMENT 

Evolution  is  the  guiding  principle  of  all  the  scien- 
tific work  of  the  present  time.  Even  when  it  is  not 
fully  accepted,  it  is  used  as  a  working  hy- 
InSiy!lc"  pothesis,  and  in  all  the  departments  which 
deal  with  life  it  is  everywhere  dominant.  The 
teaching  of  science  has  been  revolutionised  by  it,  and 
it  connects  in  a  satisfactory  manner  the  departments 
of  physics  and  biology.  From  the  Law  of  the  Con- 
servation of  Energy  it  follows  at  once  that  when  any 
change  takes  place  in  the  conditions  of  a  natural 
organism  or  physical  arrangement,  there  must  be 
expenditure  of  energy  in  some  way  or  other ;  or,  as 
Herbert  Spencer  has  put  it,  "Whatever  amount  of 
power  an  organism  expends  in  any  shape  is  the  cor- 
relate and  equivalent  of  a  power  that  was  taken  from 
without."  The  term  "power,"  however,  is  more 
correctly  applied  to  the  rate  of  doing  work,  and  not 
to  the  amount  of  that  work,  so  that  it  would  be  more 
exact  to  say  that  "whatever amount  of  work  an  organ- 
ism performs  in  any  shape  is  the  correlate  and  equiva- 
lent of  the  energy  it  receives  from  without." 

The  recognition  of  the  processes  of  evolution  in  the 
natural  and  physical  worlds,  of  the  gradual  progress 
from  the  simple  to  the  complex,  from  the  indeter- 
minate to  the  determinate,  from  the  uniform  to  the 

28 


chap,  ii  CONDITIONS   OF   DEVELOPMENT 


29 


varied,  from  the  homogeneous  to  the  heterogeneous, 
and  of  successive  integrations  as  the  steps  of  this 
progress,  has  led  to  the  application  of  the  same  meth- 
ods and  principles  in  psychology,  morality  and  soci- 
ology, although,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  when  we 
are  dealing  with  intelligent  and  ethical  man,  great 
care  requires  to  be  taken  in  making  analogies  with 
the  phenomena  of  the  physical  and  natural  worlds. 

The  origin  and  development  of  the  earth  and  of  all 
upon  it  are  explained  by  the  theory  of  evolution  in 
a  very  satisfactory  manner ;  and  while  an 
end  is  put  to  many  of  the  ordinary  theologi-  Ewiufion. 
cal  dogmas,  a  wider  view  is  given  to  their 
subjects  and  man's  relation  to  them.  In  fact,  true 
science  and  true  theology  are  gradually  being  per- 
ceived to  be  but  two  sides  of  truth,  and  both  as  yet 
are  known  only  in  part.  Even  Herbert  Spencer  ad- 
mits that  there  is  a  "  Power  behind  humanity  and  all 
things,"  which  is  not  exhausted  in  any  of  its  forms  as 
shown  in  evolution.  While  we  may  give  up  our  im- 
perfect conception  of  God,  we  cannot  abandon  all 
belief  in  a  purpose,  an  intention,  a  finality  of  some 
sort,  which  always  has  been,  and  still  is  being,  mani- 
fested in  the  universe  and  in  the  evolution  of  human 
destiny.  The  part  which  man  plays  in  working  out  / 
this  destiny  is  most  important,  for  he  can,  either 
individually  or  collectively,  modify  his  development 
in  any  desired  direction  by  changing  the  nature  of  his 
environment.  The  character  of  his  ideals,  his  sense 
of  moral  duty,  and  his  efforts  for  the  welfare  of  others, 
may  reverse  the  conditions  which  are  found  in  nature, 
and  may  substitute  the  principle  of  self-sacrifice  for 
that  of  selfish  struggle.     The  advances  of  science  and 


3Q 


THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY 


their  applications  to  trade  and  industry  are  bridging 
over  the  chasm  which  severs  the  weak  from  the 
strong,  and  altering  the  conditions  of  the  struggle  for 
existence.  "Engineering,  engrossed  in  pioneer  work, 
accomplishes  a  feat  beyond  its  own  calculations. 
Working  in  the  service  of  commerce,  and  simul- 
taneously in  the  service  of  a  large-hearted  humanity, 
it  leads  the  van  of  human  progress.  After  the  daring 
and  the  endurance  of  the  explorer  come  the  best  re- 
sults of  mechanical  contrivance ;  after  these  the  rival- 
ries of  civilised  nations  ;  after  these  all  that  is  best  in 
generous  feeling  and  purpose."  * 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  in  speaking  of  the 
"struggle  for  existence"  and  the  "survival  of  the 
fittest"  which  is  found  in  the  animal  and  vegetable 
worlds,  and  the  analogy  which  is  usually  drawn  for 
society,  says  :  "  Unless  the  best  and  noblest  part  of 
the  being  of  our  fellow-men,  their  moral  and  spiritual 
nature,  is  utterly  disregarded,  and  together  with  it  all 
sense  of  duty  as  to  cultivating  and  elevating  that 
nature,  and  every  sympathetic  movement  of  compas- 
sion and  natural  charity  left  out  of  consideration,  it 
seems  impossible  to  establish  a  resemblance  between 
the  cases.  The  blind  or  brute  struggle  for  existence 
is  not  the  same  phenomenon  as  the  conscious  human 
claim  for  decency  or  for  instruction,  for  freedom  and 
light.  These  are  not  accidents  which  can  be  ignored 
with  safety  for  the  whole,  or  agreeably  to  human 
sense  of  duty.  That  claim  and  that  sense  are  answer- 
ing chords.  The  fact  in  nature  is  only  newly  ob- 
served.    In  the  moral  world  non-interference  would 

1  Calderwood,  Evolution  and  Man's  Place  in  Nature,  p.  82. 


CONDITIONS   OF  DEVELOPMENT 


31 


be  a  new  fact,  produced  by  new  lines  of  conviction 
and  action.  It  is  not  true  that  through  the  past  his- 
tory of  man  self-acting  'laws'  have  been  allowed  their 
course,  and  have  so  far  moulded  us.  The  East  has 
been  trained  every  hour  for  ages  by  the  unswerving 
discipline  of  the  Vedas,  of  Buddha,  of  Confucius,  of 
Mohammed.  Western  society  has  been  modelled 
by  the  flexible  but  ceaseless  pressure  of  Mosaic, 
Roman,  ecclesiastical,  constitutional  legislations.  By 
an  infinity  of  corrective  and  protective  influences  the 
classes  have  been  deliberately  trained  which  are  in 
the  ascendant.  The  classes  which  are  now  miserable 
and  perilous  are  exactly  those  which  have  been 
neglected.  The  survival  of  the  fittest  in  nature 
means  the  survival  of  the  most  beautiful,  the  best 
endowed,  with  power  suited  to  their  position,  the 
cleverest ;  but  the  surviving  '  fittest '  might  among 
men,  in  not  inconceivable  conditions,  be  only  the 
strongest,  in  some  material  ways  determined  by  num- 
bers and  dynamite."  *  The  whole  of  our  efforts  in 
every  department  of  life  must  be  consciously  domi- 
nated by  a  moral  purpose  in  the  manner  I  have  indi- 
cated and,  while  paying  due  regard  to  natural  laws, 
we  must  endeavour  to  guide  their  results  to  moral 
ends,  and  therefore  to  the  improvement  of  the  com- 
munity. The  process  of  selection  which  leads  to 
development  in  the  lower  worlds  of  plants  and  animals, 
must  in  the  case  of  man  be  guided  by  reason  and  ele- 
vated by  high  ideals  of  the  possibilities  of  life.  When 
man  is  most  truly  human,  or  in  the  highest  attained 
stage  of  the  evolution  of  civilisation,  he  ceases  to  be 

1  Christ  and  His  Times  (Macmillan  and  Co.). 


32 


THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY 


in  harmony  with  the  system  of  nature  in  the  sense 
true  of  vegetables  or  the  lower  animals,  for  he  is  not 
only  intellectual  but  ethical  — 

"  Know,  man  hath  all  that  Nature  hath,  but  more, 
And  in  that  more  lies  all  his  hopes  of  good. 
Nature  is  cruel,  man  is  sick  of  blood ; 
Nature  is  stubborn,  man  would  fain  adore. 

"  Nature  is  fickle,  man  hath  need  of  rest ; 
Nature  forgives  no  debt,  and  fears  no  grave ; 
Man  would  be  mild  and  with  safe  conscience  blest. 

"  Man  must  begin,  know  this,  where  Nature  ends ; 
Nature  and  man  can  never  be  fast  friends. 
Fool,  if  thou  canst  not  pass  her,  rest  her  slave." 

Without  this  conscious  co-operation  and  modifica- 
tion by  man  of  the  evolutionary  forces  in  action, 
survival  may  often  be  the  reward  of  anti-social  char- 
acteristics, cunning,  violence,  unscrupulousness ;  or 
it  may  be  due  to  social  arrangements  for  which  the 
individuals  most  concerned  are  not  directly  responsi- 
ble, for  all  these  may  be  modified  or  completely 
changed  by  intelligent  and  ethical  human  effort. 
Indeed,  the  work  of  the  social  reformer  and  of  the 
legislator  may  not  inaptly  be  compared  to  that  of  a 
skilful  gardener,  whose  aim  is  to  place  his  flowers 
and  fruit  under  the  most  favourable  conditions  for 
development,  and  this  he  does  by  restricting,  and 
even  preventing,  wasteful  competition.  Free  com- 
petition with  a  natural  vegetation,  usually  called 
weeds  in  this  connection,  would  soon  reduce  the  best 
garden  to  a  wilderness,  and  cause  the  best  flowers 
and  fruit  rapidly  to  degenerate  and  ultimately  to 
disappear. 


CONDITIONS   OF   DEVELOPMENT 


33 


A  well-known  writer  on  the  subject  of  evolution, 
after  showing  that  the  "  struggle  for  existence,"  which 
is  the  main  feature  of  the  evolution  of  the  lower 
animal  world,  has  in  the  case  of  man  a  tendency  to 
come  to  an  end  in  virtue  of  his  reasoning  powers  and 
moral  ideas,  says  that  "  this  elimination  of  strife  is  a 
fact  of  utterly  unparalleled  grandeur.  Words  cannot 
do  justice  to  such  a  fact.  It  means  that  the  wholesale 
destruction  of  life,  which  has  heretofore  characterised 
evolution  ever  since  life  began,  and  through  which 
the  higher  forms  of  organic  existence  have  been  pro- 
duced, must  presently  come  to  an  end  in  the  case 
of  the  chief  of  God's  creatures.  It  means  that  the 
universal  struggle  for  existence,  having  succeeded  in 
bringing  forth  that  consummate  product  of  creative 
energy,  the  human  soul,  has  done  its  work  and  will 
presently  cease.  In  the  lower  regions  of  organic 
life  it  must  go  on,  but  as  a  determining  factor  in  the 
highest  work  of  evolution  it  will  disappear." 1  He 
then  goes  on  to  illustrate  how  the  action  of  natural 
selection  upon  man  has  long  since  been  essentially 
diminished  through  the  operation  of  social  conditions, 
and  that  there  has  been  a  gradual  evolution  of  the 
moral  feelings.  "And  thus  at  length  we  see  what 
human  progress  means.  It  means  throwing  off  the 
brute  inheritance, — gradually  throwing  it  off  through 
ages  of  struggle  that  are  by  and  by  to  make  struggle 
needless." 2  This  conclusion  has,  as  we  shall  see, 
a  most  important  bearing  upon  the  organisation  of 
industry,  for  it  is  as  Ltrue  of  communities  as  it  is  of 
individuals. 

1  John  Fiske,  The  Destiny  of  Man,  p.  96.  2  Ibid.  p.  103. 

D 


34  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

The  two  main  factors  in  all  evolution,  the  nature  of 
the  organism  and  the  nature   of   the    environment, 

which  are  included  by  naturalists  under 
and  En-     the  names  Heredity  and  Environment,  are 

therefore  considerably  modified  in  their 
action  when  the  mind  of  man  is  brought  to  bear  upon 
them,  and  the  inferences  to  be  drawn  from  that  action 
form  the  bases  of  the  different  schools  of  social 
philosophers.  Professor  Henry  Drummond  has  said  : 
"  He  who  truly  understands  these  influences  ;  he  who 
has  decided  how  much  to  allow  for  each  ;  he  who  can 
regulate  new  forces  as  they  arise  or  adjust  them  to 
the  old,  so  directing  them  as  at  one  moment  to  make 
them  co-operate,  at  another  time  to  counteract  each 
other,  understands  the  rationale  of  personal  develop- 
ment. To  seize  timeously.  the  opportunity  of  more 
and  more  adjustment  to  better  and  higher  conditions, 
to  balance  some  inward  evil  with  some  purer  influence 
acting  from  without,  in  a  word,  to  make  an  environ- 
ment at  the  same  time  that  it  is  making  us  —  these 
are  the  secrets  of  a  well-ordered  and  successful  life."  1 
What  is  true  of  individuals  is  also  true  of  organisa- 
tions in  society,  and  in  fact  of  society  as  a  whole. 
They  must  not  be  allowed  to  drift  along  under  the 
influence  of  blind  forces,  or  be  subordinated  to  selfish 
ends,  but  must  be  consciously  dominated  by  a  social 
ideal  which  will  lead  to  the  welfare  of  the  greatest 
number.  That  is  to  say,  the  environments  both  of 
individuals  and  of  communities  must  be  consciously 
moulded  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lead  to  the  highest 
individual  and  collective  welfare. 

1  Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World,  p.  255,  19th  edition. 


CONDITIONS   OF  DEVELOPMENT 


35 


The  subject  of  heredity  is  beginning  to  receive  the 
attention  which  its  importance  demands,  not  only 
from  biologists,  but  also  from  educationists  and  poli- 
ticians. A  study  of  the  most  advanced  journals,  both 
in  this  and  other  countries,  shows  that  the  problems 
of  heredity  and  of  parental  responsibility  for  produc- 
ing and  rearing  healthy  human  beings  are  being 
pondered  by  thoughtful  men  and  women,  who  are 
beginning  to  perceive  the  necessity  for  applying  their 
biological  knowledge  to  the  propagation  and  the  edu- 
cation of  the  race.  Educationists  are  beginning  to 
apply  it  in  their  daily  work,  and  even  politicians  are 
attempting  to  frame  some  of  their  legislation  with  due 
regard  to  it.  It  has,  indeed,  been  said  that  this  is  the 
age  of  energy,  but  that  the  next  will  be  the  age  of 
biology. 

From  the  applications  of  the  principles  of  physi- 
ology to  human  health  many  lessons  of  importance 
may  be  learned  regarding  the  social  organisation. 
Industry  and  temperance  are  essentials  alike  of  indi- 
vidual and  civic  health.  Individual  ill-health  very 
often  leads  to  consequences  which  affect  the  whole 
community  and  cause  pestilence  and  death,  and  indi- 
vidual idleness  leads  not  only  to  the  poverty  of  the 
persons  concerned,  but  also  to  a  decrease  in  the 
wealth  of  the  whole  community.  The  practical  in- 
ference is  that  the  interests  of  humanity  are  one, 
and  that  each  member  of  the  community  is  in  a 
sense  responsible  for  all  the  rest.  A  selfish  policy 
is  therefore  not  merely  vain,  but  absurd,  for  it  defeats 
its  own  objects.  A  lesson  should  be  taken  from  the 
modern  practice  of  medicine,  not  to  trust  too  much 
to  drugs  and  anaesthetics  for  the  cure  of  our  social 


36  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

diseases,  but  rather  to  depend  on  nature,  and  healthy- 
economic  and  industrial  conditions,  under  which  all 
who  were  able  to  work  would  find  the  necessary 
opportunities,  while  those  who  were  unable  would 
be  properly  cared  for. 

The  ancient  Greeks  considered  that  to  be  well  or 
nobly  born  was  one  of  the  best  gifts  of  the  gods. 
Campanella  in  his  City  of  the  Sun,  written  nearly  four 
hundred  years  ago,  said  that  the  people  in  his  ideal 
city  laughed  at  us,  who  exhibit  a  studious  care  for  our 
breed  of  horses  and  dogs,  but  neglect  the  breeding  of 
human  beings.  Herbert  Spencer  has  made  a  similar 
remark.  "  Consider,"  he  says,  "  the  fact  from  any  but 
the  conventional  point  of  view,  and  it  will  seem  strange 
that  while  the  raising  of  first-rate  bullocks  is  an  occu- 
pation on  which  men  of  education  willingly  bestow 
much  time,  inquiry  and  thought,  the  bringing  up  of 
fine  human  beings  is  an  occupation  tacitly  voted 
unworthy  of  their  attention." 

Men  and  women  at  present  attempt  to  throw  on 
what  they  call  the  mysterious  dispensations  of  Provi- 
dence the  responsibility  for  their  own  ignorance,  sen- 
suality or  carelessness.  If  they  were  perfectly  hon- 
est with  themselves,  they  could  explain  these  so-called 
dispensations,  and  it  is  certain  the  society  of  the 
future  will  not  accept  such  lame  excuses  for  neglect 
in  the  performance  of  the  highest  duties  to  the  race. 
No  plea  whatever  can  be  received  as  an  adequate 
apology  for  ignorance  of  some  of  the  chief  duties  and 
responsibilities  of  citizenship.  All  the  aspects  of 
what  is  usually  called  "the  population  question,"  in 
their  physiological,  economic  and  social  bearings, 
should  be  carefully  studied  ;  for  conditions  are  being 


CONDITIONS   OF  DEVELOPMENT 


37 


evolved  which  will  compel  our  teachers  and  legisla- 
tors to  recognise  that  the  population  question  can- 
not be  blinked  for  ever,  nor  left  to  the  blind  workings 
of  animal  instinct.  If  the  question  were  approached 
in  a  reverent  spirit,  as  becomes  its  importance,  it 
would  be  found  that  increase  of  knowledge  and  self- 
control  in  this,  as  in  other  social  problems,  are  the 
root  factors  of  the  solution.  If  the  foundations  for 
sound  physiological  knowledge  were  laid  in  our 
schools,  and  these  were  followed  up  by  economic 
and  social  studies,  there  would  soon  be  evolved 
such  a  strong  public  opinion  on  the  subject  that 
many  of  our  most  difficult  social  problems  would 
gradually  disappear.  Sound  minds  in  sound  bodies 
are  the  only  true  foundations  for  industrial  and  so- 
cial progress. 

It  is  therefore  of  the  greatest  importance  that  boys 
and  girls  should  not  be  engaged  in  work  until  they 
are  well  developed  mentally  and  physically,  and  that 
when  they  are  so  employed  the  conditions  should  be 
such  as  to  allow  development  to  continue.  More- 
over, it  is  necessary  that  the  environments  of  the 
adult  workers  should  be  healthy,  so  that  their  physi- 
cal and  mental  health  may  enable  them  not  only  to 
perform  their  work  with  the  highest  efficiency,  but 
also  to  enjoy  life  as  rational  beings  and  active  citi- 
zens. Legislation  and  public  opinion  have,  within 
recent  years,  caused  a  great  improvement  in  these 
conditions,  but  in  many  cases  they  are  still  very  far 
from  being  what  they  ought  to  be. 

The  extreme  socialists  seem  to  attach  too  much 
importance  to  the  influence  of  environment  and  too 
little  to  the  efforts  of  the  individual,  and  their  ideals 


38  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

are  often  of  a  merely  materialistic  nature.  Many  of 
them  practically  say,  "  Get  a  good  bellyful,  and  all 
other  things  shall  be  added  thereto."  A  little  obser- 
vation of  the  world  should  be  sufficient  to  show  the 
absurdity  of  this  position,  for  many,  whose  temporal 
wants  are  assured,  never  rise  much  above  the  level  of 
unthinking  and  sensual  animals.  At  the  same  time, 
social  reformers  should  recognise  the  truth  there  is  in 
the  socialist  position.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the 
material  conditions  give  rise  to,  or  greatly  modify,  the 
political ;  that  the  material  and  political  conditions 
give  rise  to  the  social ;  while  the  material,  political 
and  social  profoundly  influence  the  moral.  It  is  cer- 
tainly absurd  to  expect  men  to  be  either  moral  or 
religious  who  are  unable  to  obtain  food  sufficient  for 
a  healthy  life. 

It  is  evident  that  the  chief  problem  of  to-day  is  to 
balance  fairly  the  demands  of  the  individual  and  of 
his  environment.  Individual  progress  and  improve- 
ment of  environment  must  go  on  simultaneously,  and, 
as  I  have  pointed  out,  the  formula  of  the  relation  of 
individual  human  life  to  environment  must  be  differ- 
ent from  that  which  applies  to  irrational  animals. 
Man  not  only  modifies,  but  to  a  large  extent  makes, 
his  own  environment ;  and  all  experience  shows  that 
an  active  and  strong  mind,  imbued  with  high  ideals 
of  life  and  duty,  can  rise  above  even  degrading  social 
conditions.  In  the  same  way  groups  of  men  and 
women  or  communities  can  make,  or  at  least  pro- 
foundly modify,  their  environments,  and  as  individ- 
uals need  ideals  at  which  to  aim,  so  also  societies 
require  to  look  beyond  the  mere  demands  of  to-day 
or  even  of  to-morrow,  and  to  plan  their  organisation 


CONDITIONS   OF  DEVELOPMENT 


39 


in  such  a  manner  as  will  conduce  to  the  healthy- 
development  of  the  great  masses  of  the  people.  In 
short,  reasonable  socialism  approximates  very  closely 
to  altruistic  individualism,  and  we  shall  see  that  in 
the  organisation  of  industry  both  are  indispensable 
factors. 

A  distinguished  writer  in  the  department  of  natural 
history  has  said  :  "  Any  new  set  of  conditions  occur- 
ring to  an  animal  which  renders  its  food  and 

c  ..  .        ,  .  '        Parasitism. 

safety  very  easily  attained,  seems  to  lead  as 
a  rule  to  degeneration — just  as  an  active,  healthy 
man  sometimes  degenerates  when  he  becomes  sud- 
denly possessed  of  a  fortune ;  or  as  Rome  degener- 
ated when  possessed  of  the  riches  of  the  ancient 
world.  The  habit  of  parasitism  clearly  acts  upon 
animal  organisation  in  this  way.  Let  the  parasitic 
life  once  be  secured,  and  away  go  legs,  jaws,  eyes 
and  ears ;  the  active,  highly-gifted  crab,  insect  or 
annelid  may  become  a  mere  sac,  absorbing  nourish- 
ment and  laying  eggs."  1  What  is  true  of  the  lower 
animal  organisms  is  true  of  the  human  race  and  of 
human  society.  Human  parasites  very  often  become 
mere  sacs  for  absorbing  nourishment  and  propagating 
their  species,  although  nature  not  infrequently  kindly 
deprives  them  of  the  latter  power,  and  they  tend  to 
disappear.  Consequently,  any  society  which  contains 
a  large  proportion  of  such  parasites  must  be  in  an  un- 
healthy condition,  economically  and  socially.  Even 
from  a  personal  point  of  view  all  experience  shows 
that  any  arrangement  which  secures  food  to  the  indi- 
vidual without  the  expenditure  of  work  of  some  kind 

1  Professor  E.  Ray  Lankester,  Degeneration,  p.  33. 


V 


40  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

is  injurious.  To  be  socially  efficient  the  work  must 
be  such  as  is  not  only  for  the  good  of  the  individual, 
but  also  of  the  community  of  which  he  forms  a  part. 

The  economic  position  of  persons  who  are  mere 
consumers  is  not  understood  by  many  who  speak  and 
write  about  them,  and  who  generally  consider  their 
extravagances  are  to  the  advantage  of  trade.  A  good 
many  years  ago  the  late  Professor  Cairnes,  in  his 
book  on  Some  Leading  Principles  of  Political  Econ- 
omy, stated  that  position,  and  it  has  never  been  chal- 
lenged or  contradicted  by  any  economist  whose 
opinion  was  valuable.  It  was  as  follows:  "That 
useful  function,  which  some  profound  writers  fancy 
they  discover  in  the  abundant  expenditure  of  the  idle 
rich,  turns  out  to  be  a  sheer  illusion.  Political  econ- 
omy furnishes  no  such  palliation  of  unmitigated  self- 
ishness. Not  that  I  would  breathe  a  word  against 
the  sacredness  of  contracts.  But  I  think  it  important, 
on  moral  no  less  than  on  economic  grounds,  to  insist 
upon  this,  that  no  public  benefit  of  any  kind  arises 
from  the  existence  of  an  idle  rich  class.  The  wealth 
accumulated  by  their  ancestors  and  others  on  their 
behalf,  where  it  is  employed  as  capital,  no  doubt  helps 
to  sustain  industry  ;  but  what  they  consume  in  luxury 
and  idleness  is  not  capital,  and  helps  to  sustain  noth- 
ing but  their  own  unprofitable  lives.  By  all  means 
they  must  have  their  rents  and  interest,  as  it  is  writ- 
ten in  the  bond  ;  but  let  them  take  their  proper  places 
as  drones  in  the  hive,  gorging  at  a  feast  to  which  they 
have  contributed  nothing." 

From  a  scientific  point  of  view,  and  therefore  from 
a  moral  point  of  view,  no  man  or  woman,  unless  physi- 
cally or  mentally  disabled,  has  any  right  to  remain 


CONDITIONS   OF  DEVELOPMENT 


41 


a  member  of  a  community  unless  he  or  she  is  labour- 
ing in  some  way  or  other  for  the  common  good.  In 
every  organised  society,  therefore,  there  can  be  no 
rights  apart  from  duties.  Every  man  must  find  his 
place  and  do  his  best  to  fill  it,  for  such  a  society  can 
only  exist  in  a  healthy  condition  when  its  members 
feel  that  they  depend  upon  one  another,  and  that  it 
is  as  essential  for  the  consumer  to  produce  as  it  is  for 
the  producer  to  consume. 

It  follows  directly  from  what  has  been  said  that  a 
nation's  prosperity  is  only  laid  on  sound  and  enduring 
foundations  in  exact  proportion  to  the  degree  in  which 
all  its  members  are  doing  work  which  is  useful  —  in 
the  true  and  wide  sense  of  this  term  —  to  the  com- 
munity, and  that  when  large  numbers  are  allowed  to 
prey  upon  it,  there  must  inevitably  be  poverty,  dis- 
content and  degradation. 

When  a  living  organism  is  in  healthy  correspond- 
ence with  its  environment  it  continues  to  live  and 
thrive.     When  the  environment  changes,  it  ^ 

0  Degenera- 

must  adjust  itself  to  the  simultaneous  and  tionand 
successive  changes.  Degeneration  may 
arise,  as  we  have  seen,  through  parasites  absorbing 
its  life  nurture.  It  may  also  be  produced  through 
a  want  of  correspondence  with  its  environment. 
Death  results  from  a  failure  of  some  part  of  the 
organism  which  breaks  the  correspondence  with 
some  part  of  the  environment.  Herbert  Spencer  has 
stated  the  causes  of  death  in  the  following  biological 
terms  :  "  Death  by  natural  decay  occurs  because  in 
old  age  the  relations  between  assimilation,  oxidation, 
and  genesis  of  force  going  on  in  the  organism  gradu- 
ally fall    out   of  correspondence    with   the   relations 


42  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

between  oxygen  and  food  and  absorption  of  heat  by 
the  environment.  Death  from  disease  arises  either 
when  the  organism  is  congenitally  defective  in  its 
power  to  balance  the  ordinary  external  actions  by  the 
ordinary  internal  actions,  or  when  there  has  taken 
place  some  unusual  external  action  to  which  there 
was  no  answering  internal  action.  Death  by  accident 
implies  some  neighbouring  mechanical  changes,  of 
which  the  causes  are  either  unnoticed  from  inatten- 
tion, or  are  so  intricate  that  their  results  cannot  be 
foreseen,  and  consequently  certain  relations  in  the 
organism  are  not  adjusted  to  the  relations  in  the 
environment."  1 

All  these  causes  apply  equally  to  human  beings 
and  to  human  society.  It  is  necessary  that  the  indi- 
viduals should  be  placed  under  conditions  which  allow 
a  healthy'  life,  for  if  these  be  denied  there  is  degener- 
ation and  ultimately  death.  Hence  the  reasonable- 
ness of  the  demand  of  the  workers  for  at  least  a  "  liv- 
ing wage,"  moderate  hours,  healthy  conditions  of  work, 
and  opportunities  for  recreation  and  enjoyment.  A 
study  of  the  history  of  nations  shows  that  the  ana- 
logues of  the  causes  mentioned  by  Spencer  have  all 
been  at  work  in  those  which  have  degenerated  or  dis- 
appeared, and  as  in  individuals,  so  in  communities 
what  are  sometimes  called  "mysterious  dispensations" 
are  wholly  to  be  accounted  for  by  neglect  of  the  con- 
ditions of  healthy  individual  and  national  existence. 

Mutual  dependence  of  parts  is  that  which  initi- 
Organisa-  ates  and  guides  organisation  of  every  kind, 
tion.  whether  of  a  biological  or  sociological  nature.2 

1  Principles  of  Biology,  vol.  i.  p.  88. 

2  Cf.  Herbert  Spencer,  The  Study  of  Sociology,  chap.  xiv. 


CONDITIONS  OF  DEVELOPMENT 


43 


A  study  of  life,  from  the  undifferentiated  aggregate 
of  protoplasm  to  the  perfect  man,  shows  a  gradual 
change  from  the  structureless  mass  to  a  highly  com- 
plicated organism.  The  proper  evolution  of  this  or- 
ganism is  only  possible  by  the  dependence  of  each 
upon  all  and  of  all  upon  each,  and  as  the  organisation 
extends,  the  appliances  for  carrying  on  the  intercourse 
with  the  various  parts  must  become  more  and  more 
involved.  The  same  is  obviously  true  of  social  organi- 
sation. 

It  is  long  since  Plato  taught  that  organic  unity  with 
one's  self,  body  and  soul,  is  essential  to  the  well-being, 
the  Tightness  or  goodness  or  justice  of  the  individual, 
of  the  microcosm  ;  and  further,  that  the  same  ideal 
supplies  the  true  definition  of  the  well-being  of  the 
macrocosm,  of  the  social  organism,  the  State.  Mod- 
ern economists  and  politicians  are  beginning  to  per- 
ceive that  at  the  bottom  of  all  economic  investigation 
must  lie  the  idea  of  an  adequate  distribution  of  wealth 
for  the  maintenance  and  evolution  of  society,  and  fur- 
ther, that  this  distribution  requires  the  intervention 
of  the  State  at  every  turn.  Dr.  Ingram  has  expressed 
the  opinion  that  "  it  is  indeed  certain  that  industrial 
society  will  not  permanently  remain  without  a  sys- 
tematic organisation,  and  that  the  mere  conflict  of 
private  interests  will  never  produce  a  well-ordered 
commonwealth  of  labour."  1  He  is,  however,  careful 
to  point  out  that  "the  industrial  reformation  for 
which  Western  Europe  groans  and  travails,  and  the 
advent  of  which  is  indicated  by  so  many  symptoms 
(though  it  will  come  only  as  the  fruit  of  faithful  and 

1  History  of  Political  Economy,  p.  244. 


44 


THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY 


I 


sustained  effort),  will  be  no  isolated  fact,  but  will 
form  part  of  an  applied  art  of  life,  modifying  our 
whole  environment,  affecting  our  whole  culture,  and 
regulating  our  whole  conduct  —  in  a  word,  directing 
all  our  resources  to  the  one  great  end  of  the  conser- 
vation and  development  of  Humanity." 

When  we  speak  of  the  State  as  an  organism,  and 
infer  from  this  that  it  must  obey  the  laws  of  organic 
growth,  we  must  remember  the  conditions  under 
which  the  growth  takes  place,  and  not  push  the  bio- 
logical analogy  too  far,  as  there  are  many  limiting 
and  modifying  influences  at  work.  The  progress  of 
knowledge  and  of  the  application  of  science  to  indus- 
trial operations  has  been  the  means  of  hastening  the 
evolution  of  industry  during  the  past  century  to  an 
extent  which  was  undreamt  of  by  our  ancestors,  and 
possibly  even  greater  developments  await  us  in  the 
future. 

Moreover,  this  evolution  is  affected  in  a  great  many 
ways  apart  from  individual  action  and  the  operation  of 
free  competition.  Collective  action  by  trade  unions, 
which  exclude  the  weaker  workers,  monopolies  which 
practically  abolish  competition,  legislation  and  admin- 
istration which  undertake  to  protect  those  who  are 
not  able  to  protect  themselves  and  to  secure  proper 
sanitary  and  working  conditions  for  all,  have  pro- 
foundly affected  industrial  development.  On  the 
other  hand,  combinations  of  various  kinds,  such  as 
voluntary  co-operation  in  its  various  forms,  and  the 
higher  developments,  of  municipal  and  State  co-opera- 
tion, are  gradually  moulding  the  chief  features  of  the 
industrial  organisation  of  the  future.  After  we  have 
studied  the  various  factors  in  the  labour  movement, 


CONDITIONS   OF   DEVELOPMENT 


45 


we  shall  be  in  a  better  position  to  see  the  bearings 
of  biological  and  physical  analogies. 

It  may  be  objected  that  it  is  not  desirable  that  com- 
petition of  some  kind  or  other  should  cease.  Com- 
petition, it  is  said,  is  "  the  life  of  trade."  Probably 
there  is  some  truth  in  this,  but  it  should  be  added 
that  it  is  very  often  the  death  of  one  of  the  compet- 
itors, who  is  not  necessarily  the  least  fit  from  a  social 
point  of  view.  While  agreeing  with  Herbert  Spencer 
that  "an  unquestionable  injury  is  done  by  agencies 
which  undertake  in  a  wholesale  way  to  foster  good- 
for-nothings,  putting  a  stop  to  that  process  of  elimina- 
tion by  which  society  continually  purines  itself,"  we 
must  remember  the  elements  introduced  into  the 
problems  by  the  reasoning  powers  of  man  and  by  his 
capacity  for  moral  action.  What  the  blind  struggle 
for  existence  does  for  the  vegetable  and  the  lower 
animal  worlds  —  namely,  the  extermination  of  the 
unfit  —  must  be  brought  about  in  the  social  world  by 
the  spread  of  knowledge  and  the  due  performance  of 
social  duties,  which  tend  to  produce  a  higher  form  of 
competition.  No  false  sentimentalism  should  allow 
the  race,  as  is  unfortunately  too  much  the  case  at 
present,  to  be  propagated  largely  by  the  unfit,  whose 
sterilisation  is  one  of  the  most  important,  as  it  is 
probably  the  most  difficult,  of  the  problems  which 
society  has  to  face. 

Indeed,  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  most 
useful  lesson  which  would  be  learned  during  the  evolu- 
tion of  industry  would  be  the  necessity  for  more 
attention  being  paid  to  the  population  question,  and 
to  the  conditions  of  healthy  individual  and  national 
existence.     This  opens  up  many  questions  of  a  bio- 


46  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

logical,  physical,  moral  and  economic  "nature,  demand- 
ing very  careful  study. 

While  admitting  that  under  present  social  and 
economic  conditions  there  is  a  very  serious  popula- 
tion question,  it  has  yet  to  be  proved  that  under  such 
conditions  as  I  have  indicated  there  would  be  any 
such  question.  It  is  probable  there  would  be  none, 
and  that  improved  industrial  organisation  would  gradu- 
ally absorb  all  who  were  able  to  work,  and  the  prob- 
lem of  the  unemployed  would  ultimately  solve  itself, 
in  a  manner  which  I  will  explain  further  on. 

Moreover,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  improved 
social  conditions  and  intellectual  and  moral  develop- 
ment would  reduce  the  tendency  to  an  undue  increase 
of  population.  This  tendency  would  be  still  further 
reduced  by  the  influence  of  an  enlightened  public 
opinion,  and  if  necessary  by  legislation.  As  J.  Stuart 
Mill  pointed  out,  it  is  possible  to  imagine  a  stationary 
state  in  which  social  conditions  were  much  better 
than  those  which  at  present  exist.  It  will  be,  how- 
ever, a  long  time  before  this  arrives,  but  if  in  the 
interval  it  be  insisted  upon  that  each  consumer  shall 
also  be  a  producer,  the  danger  from  over-population 
will  not  be  great.  In  Britain  especially,  which  draws 
its  food  supplies  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  the  in- 
crease in  manufactures  and  transport  is  likely,  in  the 
future  as  in  the  past,  to  provide  for  the  support  of 
a  larger  population  than  is  possible  in  a  purely  agri- 
cultural country.  If  there  were  a  federation  between 
Britain  and  her  colonies,  with  practical  free-trade, 
and  with  improved  economic  conditions,  and  more 
especially  with  free  access  to  the  land,  the  amount  of 
production  of  all  kinds  might  be  very  much  increased, 


CONDITIONS   OF  DEVELOPMENT 


47 


and  the  population  question  might  be  left  to  settle 
itself,  subject  to  no  influence  save  an  enlightened 
public  opinion  and  a  determination  that  the  selfish- 
ness of  the  individual  should  never  be  allowed  to 
interfere  with  the  welfare  of  the  community. 

We  have  seen  that  the  study  of  physics  throws  light 
on  many  economic  problems.  In  the  same  way  a 
knowledge  of  biology  is  necessary  to  guide  us  in  socio- 
logical investigations.  For  instance,  it  explains  the 
true  nature  and  limits  of  competition,  and  of  the  neces- 
sity for  co-operation  in  different  forms  and  for  the 
division  of  labour.  It  indicates  the  functions  of  trade 
unions,  and  justifies  the  demand  for  a  fair,  or  at  least 
a  minimum,  rate  of  wages.  It  imparts  the  knowledge 
necessary  for  the  solution  of  the  problems  connected 
with  the  population  question,  and  it  shows  the  neces- 
sity for  a  thorough  change  in  our  system  of  land  ten- 
ure, so  that  the  most  may  be  made  of  our  national 
resources  in  the  interests  of  the  people.  We  will 
glance  at  some  of  these  questions  later  on,  but  their 
complete  treatment  would  involve  the  rewriting  of 
economics  on  a  scientific  basis.  The  importance  of 
the  land  question  should  be  specially  noted,  for,  if  our 
present  system  were  continued,  an  improved  industrial 
organisation  would  result  chiefly  in  the  owners  of  the 
land  being  able  to  command  a  greater  amount  of 
wealth  for  the  use  of  their  land. 

In  considering  the  possibilities  of  the  conditions  of 
the  workers  in  the  future,  it  must  always  be  remem- 
bered that  the  economics  of  the  future  will  in  many 
respects  be  the  reverse  of  those  of  the  present.  Every 
member  of  the  community  will  be  required  to  take  a 
fair  share  of  useful  work,  due  regard  being  of  course 


48  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

paid  to  the  aged  and  infirm.  The  national  resources 
of  the  country,  including  not  only  the  surface  of  the 
land,  but  also  its  minerals,  water,  etc.,  will  be  held  for 
the  public  advantage,  and  not  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
riching a  fortunate  few.  Not  only  will  the  economic 
rent  of  land  and  minerals  pass  into  the  common  ex- 
chequer, but  also  the  very  large  amounts  which  at 
present  go  to  private  individuals,  in  the  shape  of 
increased  revenue  from  land  in  consequence  of  social 
and  industrial  development,  will  go  into  the  treasury 
either  of  the  State  or  of  the  community.  Moreover, 
immense  amounts  are  at  present  spent  on  useless  lux- 
uries, and  especially  on  strong  drink,  on  equally  use- 
less sinecures,  on  large  armaments,  and  on  all  the 
extravagances  connected  with  a  military  system  of 
government  and  a  competitive  system  in  commerce 
and  industry.  If  the  wealth  at  present  squandered 
on  these  objects  were  rendered  available  for  the  com- 
mon good,  and  if  all  were  required  to  take  a  fair  share 
of  useful  work,  there  would  be  enough  and  to  spare 
for  all  legitimate  demands. 

The  conditions  of  healthy  social  development  are, 
that  there  shall  be  no  rights  apart  from  duties,  and 
that  there  shall  be  full  opportunities  for  the  physical, 
intellectual  and  moral  welfare  of  every  member  of 
the  community.  Each  must  find  his  place  in  society, 
and  recognise  it,  and  be  prepared  to  meet  all  the 
legitimate  demands  which  it  makes  upon  him.  The 
greatest  change  in  the  organisation  of  the  industry 
of  the  future  will  therefore  be  the  spirit  in  which  it 
is  conducted.  Instead  of  selfish  greed  and  heartless 
competition  there  will  be  a  feeling  for  the  common 
good,  and  a  recognition  of  mutual  dependence,  and 


CONDITIONS   OF  DEVELOPMENT 


49 


this  in  itself  will  be  sufficient  to  solve  many  of  our 
social  difficulties. 

In  order,  however,  that  this  new  spirit  may  be 
made  effective,  it  will  be  necessary  to  improve  the 
machinery  not  only  of  legislation  and  general  admin- 
istration, but  also  that  necessary  for  the  management 
of  industrial  and  commercial  operations.  In  all  our 
speculations  and  proposals  for  practical  work  it  must 
be  distinctly  understood  and  remembered  that  no 
theory  of  labour,  no  philosophy  of  individual  or 
national  life  can  be  considered  satisfactory,  and  no 
legislation  likely  to  be  effective,  unless  it  be  founded 
on  a  clear  and  accurate  comprehension  of  the  mean- 
ing and  scope  of  the  fundamental  truths  which  we 
have  been  considering.  While  recognising  the  evolu- 
tionary forces  at  work,  we  must  not  leave  them  to 
be  influenced  by  accidents  or  to  be  used  for  merely 
selfish  ends.  We  must  consciously  co-operate  with 
them,  and  thus  render  the  evolution  easier.  This, 
indeed,  is  the  most  important  duty  of  citizenship,  and 
its  proper  performance  involves  the  careful  study, 
not  only  of  scientific  laws  and  technical  details,  but 
also  of  those  ethical  and  economic  principles  which 
lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  real  progress. 

The  formation  of  individual  and  national  character 
is  therefore  of  the  greatest  importance,  for,  as  Her- 
bert Spencer  has  pointed  out,  "  the  forms  of  govern- 
ment are  valuable  only  where  they  are  products  of 
national  character.  No  cunningly-devised  political 
arrangements  will  of  themselves  do  anything.  No 
amount  of  knowledge  respecting  the  uses  of  such 
arrangements  will  suffice.  Nothing  will  suffice  but 
the   emotional   nature  to  which  such  arrangements 


50  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

are  adapted  —  a  nature  which,  during  progress,  has 
evolved  the  arrangements.  And  where  there  is  want 
of  congruity  between  the  nature  and  the  arrange- 
ments —  wherever  the  arrangements,  suddenly  estab- 
lished by  revolution  or  pushed  too  far  by  reforming 
change,  are  of  a  higher  type  than  the  national  char- 
acter demands,  there  is  always  a  lapse  proportionate 
to  the  incongruity."  *  These  remarks  should  be  care- 
fully remembered  at  the  present  time,  when  there  is 
a  tendency  to  place  too  much  weight  on  the  mere 
increase  of  knowledge  and  the  improvement  of  ma- 
terial conditions.  These  are  important,  but  they  are 
not  the  only  or  even  the  chief  means  to  real  progress. 
Professor  Huxley  has  done  well  to  point  out  in  his 
usual  plain-spoken  manner  that  "  we  may  go  on 
developing  the  intellectual  side  of  life  as  far  as  we 
like,  and  we  may  confer  ...  all  the  skill  that  teach- 
ing and  instruction  can  give,  but  if  there  is  not 
underneath  all  that  outside  form  and  superficial  polish 
jthe  firm  fibre  of  healthy  manhood  and  earnest  desire, 
our  labour  is  absolutely  in  vain."  Not  only  is  this 
true  of  intellectual  but  also  of  material  progress, 
for  history  teaches  us  no  plainer  lesson  than  that  a 
nation  which  sinks  into  materialism  is  in  its  decline. 

These,  indeed,  are  no  new  truths,  for  thinkers  of 
all  ages  have  expressed  them,  although  they  are  apt 
to  be  constantly  forgotten.  More  than  forty  years  ago 
Mr.  Froude  wrote  :  "  In  two  things  there  is  progress 
—  progress  in  knowledge  of  the  outward  world,  and 
progress  in  material  wealth.  This  last,  for  the  present, 
creates,  perhaps,  more  evils  than  it  relieves;  but  sup- 
pose this  difficulty  solved  —  suppose  the  wealth  dis- 

1  The  Study  of  Sociology,  p.  275. 


CONDITIONS   OF  DEVELOPMENT 


51 


tributed,  and  every  peasant  living  like  a  peer  —  what 
then  ?  If  this  is  all,  one  noble  soul  outweighs  the 
whole  of  it.  Let  us  follow  knowledge  to  the  outer 
circle  of  the  universe  —  the  eye  will  not  be  satisfied 
with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  with  hearing.  Let  us  build 
Our  streets  of  gold,  and  they  will  hide  as  many  aching 
hearts  as  hovels  of  straw.  The  well-being  of  mankind 
is  not  advanced  a  single  step.  Knowledge  is  power, 
and  wealth  is  power;  and  harnessed,  as  in  Plato's 
fable,  to  the  chariot  of  the  soul,  and  guided  by  wis- 
dom, they  may  bear  it  through  the  circle  of  the  stars; 
but  left  to  their  own  guidance,  or  reined  by  a  fool's 
hand,  the  wild  horses  may  bring  the  poor  fool  to 
Phaeton's  end,  and  set  a  world  on  fire."  1 

By  a  process  of  intuition  and  as  the  result  of  experi- 
ence, the  workers  are  formulating  their  demands  in  a 
more  or  less  coherent  manner,  and  it  must  Demands 
be  admitted  that  these  conform   to  a  con-    _  °f 

Workers. 

siderable  extent  to  the  physical  and  biologi- 
cal conditions  which  have  been  mentioned.  It  seems 
very  reasonable  to  expect  that  their  labour  should 
receive  sufficient  reward  to  enable  them  with  pru- 
dence and  economy  to  maintain  themselves  and  their 
families  comfortably,  and  that  without  requiring  their 
wives  to  take  any  part  in  factory  or  other  similar  work, 
and  to  make  provision,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
for  their  decent  support  after  their  labouring  powers 
have  failed ;  that  they  should  have  healthy  and  con- 
venient houses  and  workshops;  that  they  should  be 
protected  as  far  as  possible  from  injury  when  following 
their  occupations ;  that  their  hours  of  labour  should 
not  be  so  long  as  to  injure  their  health  and  prevent 

1  Short  Studies  on  Great  Subjects,  vol.  i.  p.  222. 


52  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

them  from  enjoying  a  reasonable  amount  of  leisure ; 
and  that  proper  facilities  should  be  given  for  the  use- 
ful employment  of  that  leisure,  either  in  their  own 
homes  or  in  the  public  institutions  of  various  kinds 
which  should  form  part  of  the  organisation  of  every 
well-ordered  community.  In  short,  they  are  begin- 
ning to  demand  that  their  environments  shall  be  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  enable  them  to  make  the  most 
of  themselves  physically,  mentally  and  morally,  and 
allow  them  fully  and  effectively  to  discharge  their 
duties  not  only  as  workers  but  as  citizens. 

There  is  another  demand  which  is  growing,  and 
which  should  be  encouraged  in  every  possible  way, 
that  is,  that  the  work  done  shall  be  of  some  use,  or 
beauty,  or  permanence.  A  great  deal  of  the  energy 
which  is  at  present  exerted  is  spent  on  work  which 
has  none  of  those  qualities,  and  which  does  nothing 
to  advance  either  personal  or  national  welfare  or 
character,  but  on  the  contrary  has  a  demoralising 
effect  on  all  concerned.  Even  when  the  product  is 
useful,  the  extreme  subdivision  of  labour  causes  it  to 
lose  all  individuality.  When  it  is  recognised  that  the 
workshop  is  the  chief  practical  school  for  the  forma- 
tion of  character,  the  workers,  having  made  their 
economic  position  more  secure,  may  turn  their  atten- 
tion to  the  nature  and  quality  of  their  work,  and  insist 
on  the  performance  of  it  under  conditions  which  will 
allow  the  free  play  of  individuality,  without  which 
there  can  be  no  real  pleasure.  We  will  consider  this 
subject  farther  on,  and  we  shall  see  that,  at  least  in 
artistic  productions,  a  beginning  has  been  made  in  this 
direction.  We  will  also  try  to  ascertain  if  the  other 
demands  which  have  been  enumerated  are  likely  to  be 


ii  CONDITIONS   OF   DEVELOPMENT  53 

met  by  the  evolution  of  present  movements.  It  will 
be  admitted  that  any  organisation  which  allowed  them 
to  be  fully  supplied  would  promote  both  individual 
and  social  welfare. 

^^The  future  of  machinery  in  the  world  of  labour  is  a 
very  large  subject,  and  beyond  our  present  scope.  Of 
this  we  may  rest  assured,  that  the  triumphs  Future  of 
of  science  and  industry  are  the  most  power-  Machinery. 
ful  factors  of  the  age,  and  we  cannot  get  rid  of  them 
even  if  we  wished.  They  are  essential  not  only  for 
our  individual  but  also  for  our  national  existence;  for 
the  struggle  with  nature  is  too  severe  to  allow  us  to 
dispense  with  any  of  the  achievements  of  the  human 
race.  The  problem  before  us  is  so  to  utilise  them  that 
they  will  not  degrade  any  portion  of  the  community, 
but  will  enable  each  one  to  live  a  healthy,  noble  life, 
and  society  to  realise  an  order  far  beyond  our  highest 
ideals.  The  mechanical  development  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  was  a  very  necessary  step  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  society.  That  of  the  twentieth  will  bring  us 
still  nearer  to  the  conditions  which  prophets  have  fore- 
told, of  which  poets  have  sung,  and  which  are  now 
almost  within  our  grasp  if  we  deliberately  try  to  obtain 
them.  We  cannot  bring  back  the  old  order  of  things 
in  the  industrial  and  commercial  world,  but  we  ought 
to  welcome  and  understand  the  new,  not  as  it  has 
been  forced  upon  a  world  animated  by  self-seeking  and 
greed,  but  as  it  might  be  when  regulated  by  the  wis- 
dom and  generosity  of  those  who  prize  justice  as  the 
first  necessity  with  their  fellow-men.  Modern  social 
conditions  are  forcing  the  need  for  such  an  ideal 
upon  all  who  look  beneath  the  surface  of  our  boasted 
progress. 


54  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

A  socialist  writer  has  expressed  the  following  opin- 
ions regarding  the  future  of  the  use  of  machinery: 
"  For  the  consolation  of  the  artists  I  will  say  that  I 
believe  that  a  state  of  social  order  would  probably  lead 
at  first  to  a  great  development  of  machinery  for  really 
useful  purposes,  because  people  will  still  be  anxious 
about  getting  through  the  work  necessary  to  holding 
society  together ;  but  that  after  a  while  they  will  find 
there  is  not  so  much  work  to  do  as  they  expected,  and 
that  then  they  will  have  leisure  to  reconsider  the 
whole  subject  ;  and  if  it  seems  to  them  that  a  certain 
industry  could  be  carried  on  more  pleasantly  as  re- 
gards the  worker,  and  more  effectually  as  regards  the 
goods,  by  using  handwork  rather  than  machinery,  they 
will  certainly  get  rid  of  their  machinery,  because  it 
will  now  be  possible  for  them  to  do  so.  It  isn't  pos- 
sible now ;  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  do  so ;  we  are 
slaves  to  the  monsters  which  we  have  created.  And  I 
have  a  kind  of  hope  that  the  very  elaboration  of 
machinery  in  a  society  whose  purpose  is  not  the  mul- 
tiplication of  labour,  as  it  now  is,  but  the  carrying  on 
of  a  pleasant  life,  as  it  would  be  under  social  order — 
that  the  elaboration  of  machinery  will  lead  to  the 
simplification  of  life,  and  so  once  more  to  the  limita- 
tion of  machinery."  J  In  another  chapter  we  will  con- 
sider some  of  the  conditions  which  may  render  this 
possible,  and  will  allow  machinery  to  be  used  for  the 
purpose  of  saving  labour,  and  not  simply  for  saving 
wages,  as  it  is  very  often  at  present. 

If  the  engineers  of  the  future  strive  to  maintain  the 
highest  possible  ideals  of  morality,  science,  work  and 

1  William  Morris,  Signs  of  Change,  p.  33. 


ii  CONDITIONS   OF  DEVELOPMENT  55 

scholarship,  there  are  no  reasons  why,  before  the  end 
of  the  twentieth  century,  they  should  not  form  a 
noble  guild,  girdling  the  earth  both  intellectually  and 
materially,  whose  power  and  influence  will  lead  man- 
kind forward  much  more  in  the  future  than  in  the 
past,  towards  all  that  makes  for  prosperity,  happiness 
and  peace.  In  doing  so,  however,  they  must  be  guided 
not  only  by  the  scientific  and  industrial,  but  also  the 
artistic  and  ethical  spirit. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  the  old  political  parties  are 
disappearing,  and  that  their  places  are  being  taken 
by  others  which  profess  to  make  the  im-  Future  of 
provement  of  the  social  and  economic  con-  PolitICS- 
ditions  of  the  people  their  chief  aim.  Unfortunately 
the  measures  they  propose  and  attempt  to  carry  out 
are  very  often  of  an  opportunist  nature,  and  may 
delay  the  real  solutions  of  the  problems  with  which 
we  are  confronted.  Hence  the  necessity  for  an  edu- 
cation in  the  duties  of  Citizenship.  As  this  develops 
and  people  are  trained  to  think  out  the  solutions  of 
the  problems,  they  will  endeavour  to  become  con- 
scious helpers  in  the  evolution  of  a  nobler  society 
than  that  of  which  they  at  present  form  part,  and  the 
highest  ambition  of  every  citizen  will  be  to  render 
efficient  social  service,  to  fill  an  honourable  place  in  a 
well-organised  community. 

In  the  future,  politicians  will  be  divided  into  two 
classes  having  little  or  no  political  meaning,  and  dif- 
fering, not  so  much  in  their  professed  objects,  as  in 
their  methods.  In  the  first  class  we  shall  have  the 
so-called  practical  politicians  who  do  not  look  far 
before  them,  who  adjust  their  measures  to  meet  the 
wants  of  to-day,  and  who  endeavour  to  offend  few 


56  THE   EVOLUTION  OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

prejudices  or  trench  on  few  vested  interests  and 
privileges,  but  who  never  consider  the  probable  con- 
sequences of  their  actions.  In  the  other  class  we 
shall  have  those  who  are  able  to  read  the  signs  of 
the  times  and  to  understand  their  tendencies,  and 
who  endeavour  to  form  ideals  at  which  they  ought  to 
aim.  All  their  proposals  will  be  framed  with  these 
ideals  in  view,  and  will  lead  in  their  direction,  however 
distant  their  complete  attainment  may  be.  They  will 
accept  help  from  any  quarter  in  the  promotion  of  the 
objects  they  contemplate,  but  they  will  refuse  to  give 
any  encouragement  to  measures  which,  however  in- 
viting they  may  seem  at  the  time,  tend  to  make  the 
ultimate  solution  of  the  problems  more  difficult.  They 
will  recognise  the  nature  of  the  struggle  on  which  we 
are  entering,  and  will  see  that,  as  the  revolt  at  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  the  revolt  of  the 
middle  classes  from  the  dominion  of  a  hereditary  aris- 
tocracy which  had  ceased  to  be  an  aristocracy  in 
spirit,  so  the  revolt  of  to-day  is  that  of  the  workers 
against  capitalism  ;  and  that  in  the  one  case  as  in  the 
other  it  means  an  upward  movement  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  human  race  and  an  extension  of  human 
dignity  and  self-respect.  They  will,  in  short,  be 
students  of  the  science  of  politics,  and  will  try  to 
guide  their  actions  by  scientific  principles,  and  they 
will  therefore  pay  more  attention  to  the  lives  of  the 
community  than  to  what  are  usually  considered  the 
rights  of  property.  While  taking  care  that  labour  is 
made  as  efficient  as  possible,  their  aim  will  not  be 
simply  the  maximum  amount  of  wealth  but  the  maxi- 
mum realisation  of  human  welfare,  and  their  ideal 
will  be  the  attainment   of   a    human   life  for  every 


li  CONDITIONS   OF   DEVELOPMENT  57 

human  being.  They  will  carefully  study  the  science 
of  economics,  but  their  postulates  will  be  founded 
more  on  the  requirements  of  the  multitudinous  poor 
than  on  the  demands  of  the  comfortable  few.  Their 
efforts  will  thus  bring  about  a  reconciliation  of  indi- 
vidualism and  collectivism.  When  they  are  discour- 
aged by  apparent  want  of  success,  or  even  defeated 
in  their  immediate  objects,  they  will  remember  that 
the  Law  of  the  Conservation  of  Energy  holds  in 
politics  as  in  physics,  and  that  "when  their  names 
are  blotted  out,  and  their  places  know  them  no  more, 
the  energy  of  each  social  service  they  perform  will 
remain,  and  also  that  each  social  disservice,  whatever 
shape  it  may  take,  will  remain,  like  the  unending 
stream  of  one  of  Nature's  forces." '  Men  imbued 
with  such  ideas  and  strengthened  by  the  knowledge 
required  to  enable  them  to  form  correct  opinions, 
will  rise  far  above  the  ordinary  haphazard  methods  of 
legislation,  for  as  Herbert  Spencer  has  pointed  out, 
"  Studying  sociology  scientifically  leads  to  fairer  ap- 
preciation of  different  parties,  political,  religious,  and 
other.  The  conception  initiated  and  developed  by 
social  science  is  at  the  same  time  radical  and  con- 
servative— radical  to  a  degree  beyond  anything  which 
current  radicalism  conceives  ;  conservative  to  a  degree 
beyond  anything  conceived  by  present  conservatism."2 
The  result  will  ultimately  be  the  emancipation  of  the 
great  masses  of  the  people  and  their  preparation  for 
the  work  of  life  with  equal  opportunities,  and  not 
simply  the  enriching  of  a  limited  class,  as  at  present. 
To  achieve  this,  however,  we  will  require  not  mere 

1  John  Morley,  in  a  public  speech. 

2  The  Study  of  Sociology,  chap.  xvi. 


58  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

party  politicians,  but  men  of  the  highest  ability,  not 
only  prepared  with  thorough  knowledge,  but  also  fired 
with  a  spirit  of  stern  aggressive  enthusiasm  ;  who, 
moreover,  will  recognise  the  truth  of  Carlyle's  saying, 
that  "universal  democracy,  whatever  we  may  think 
of  it,  has  declared  itself  as  an  inevitable  fact  of  the 
days  in  which  we  live ;  and  he  who  has  any  chance 
to  instruct  or  lead  in  his  days  must  begin  by  admit- 
ting that."  The  problem  which  politicians  will  place 
before  themselves  will  not  be,  Given  the  mass  of  the 
workers  living  in  a  state  of  economic  instability  and 
uncertainty,  how  best  to  preserve  the  privileges  of 
the  fortunate  few ;  but  rather,  Taking  into  account 
the  whole  resources  of  the  nation,  how  are  they  to  be 
utilised  so  that  they  may  lead  to  the  highest  social 
welfare  ? 

The  solution  of  this  problem  requires  the  evolution 
of  such  an  organisation  of  industry  as  will  produce 
the  maximum  amount  of  wealth  for  the  community, 
and  at  the  same  time  ensure  each  member  sufficient 
for  a  healthy  existence.  The  study  of  these  condi- 
tions has  caused  the  rapid  rise  of  a  school  of  social 
economy,  "in  which  the  leading  tenet  is  that  the 
problem  of  to-day  is  distribution  and  not  production, 
and  that  better  distribution  involves  the  intervention 
of  the  State  at  every  turn.  The  disciples  of  this 
school  believe  that  society  is  more  than  an  aggregate 
of  individuals,  and  see  in  it  a  living  whole,  which  not 
only  does  control  the  lives  of  the  component  parts, 
but  must  do  so  if  these  parts  are  to  remain  healthy, 
and  not  as  to  some  of  them  develop  into  unnatural 
growths  drawing  unduly  on  the  common  resources, 
and  as  to  others  of  them  wither  up  and  die  of  inani- 


II  CONDITIONS   OF   DEVELOPMENT  59 

tion.  Such  a  general  control,  they  say,  is  natural, 
and  while  they  agree  that  the  members  must  have 
scope  for  free  development  as  individuals,  they  say 
that  such  development  takes  place  most  healthily 
when  it  is  kept  in  consistency  with  the  equally  real 
life  of  the  common  whole."  *  There  are,  of  course, 
differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
general  control  is  to  be  exercised,  but  it  is  evident 
that  it  must  be  evolved  not  by  the  haphazard  con- 
flict of  selfish  interests,  but  by  the  conscious  will  of 
the  community  being  brought  to  bear  upon  the  work 
and  constructing  fresh  social  and  industrial  forms  to 
fit  the  new  economic  conditions ;  for  each  change  must 
not  be  of  a  speculative  nature,  but  be  guided  in  its 
line  of  movement  by  precedent  changes  of  environ- 
ment. These  changes  do  not  necessarily  involve  a 
rigid,  cast-iron  State  organisation,  but,  as  we  shall 
see,  they  may  be  produced  by  an  adequate  system  of 
co-operation,  a  great  part  of  which  may  be  of  an 
unofficial  nature.  In  fact  I  hope  to  show  that  an 
extension  of  the  methods  at  present  in  operation  is 
sufficient  to  bring  about  the  desired  results,  and  that 
the  necessary  control  may  be  exercised  in  a  great 
variety  of  ways. 

It  must  always  be  distinctly  remembered,  while 
admitting  that  legislation  may  do  a  great  deal  for 
the  improvement  of  the  conditions  of  the  workers, 
that  the  emancipation  of  labour  is  not  so  much  an 
affair  of  legislation  or  agitation  as  of  morals.  All 
real  social  progress  and  reforms  must  have  their 
origin  in  sound  and  thorough  education.    There  must 

1  R.  B.  Haldane,  M.P.,  Preface  to  The  Labour  Movement,  by  L.  T. 
Hobhouse,  M.A.,  p.  xi. 


60  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

be  an  intellectual  and  moral  revolution  along  with,  if 
it  does  not  precede,  the  social  and  industrial  revolu- 
tion, and  this  is  required  both  by  the  workers  and 
their  employers.  For  the  former,  however,  it  is  most 
important,  for  there  is  no  power  on  earth  that  can 
emancipate  men  who  are  slaves  to  degrading  pas- 
sions or  habits,  or  who  are  awanting  in  dignified 
self-respect.  Contrariwise,  there  is  no  power  on 
earth  that  can  hold  down  working  men  whose  habits 
are  wholesome,  who  put  their  hearts  and  their  brains 
into  their  work  as  well  as  their  arms,  and  who  meet 
equals  and  superiors  alike  with  dignified  self-reliance. 
A  well-known  French  writer 1  has  said  :  '*  The  social 
problem  is  before  all  things  a  religious  and  moral 
problem.  It  is  not  only  a  question  of  stomachs,  it 
is  quite  as  much,  and  more  perhaps,  a  spiritual  ques- 
tion —  a  question  of  the  soul.  Social  reform  can 
only  be  accomplished  by  means  of  moral  reform.  In 
order  to  raise  the  life  of  the  people  we  must  raise  the 
soul  of  the  people.  In  order  to  reform  society  we 
must  reform  man  —  reform  the  rich,  reform  the  poor, 
reform  the  workman,  and  reform  the  master,  and 
give  back  to  each  of  them  what  is  at  present  lacking 
equally  in  each  of  them,  a  Christian  spirit."  It  is 
evident,  therefore,  that  without  much  legislative  or 
administrative  change,  a  great  many  of  the  evils 
from  which  society  at  present  suffers  would  disap- 
pear if  there  were  a  more  earnest  cultivation  of  the 
individual  sense  of  honourable  obligation.  Too  often, 
however,  social  reformers  have  seemed  to  forget  the 
economic  basis  necessary  to  make  possible  the  re- 
forms at  which  they  were  aiming. 

1  Leroy-Beaulieu,  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  December  1891. 


II  CONDITIONS   OF   DEVELOPMENT  6 1 

It  is  evident  that  no  system  of  industrial  organisa- 
tion can  be  in  a  stable  condition  which  does 
not  rest  on  a  firm  basis  of  social  ethics,  industrial 
Both  philosophy  and  science  point  out  that,  t  lcs* 
in  tracing  the  history  of  the  race,  we  can  never  come 
to  anything  which  corresponds  to  the  individual,  and 
man  is  known  only  as  a  member  of  a  society  of  some 
kind.  We  might  as  well  regard  the  members  of  our 
own  body  as  animals  as  suppose  that  man  is  man 
apart  from  humanity.  All  that  makes  him  what  he 
is,  all  his  powers  of  body  and  mind,  are  derived  from 
the  society  in  which  he  lives,  and  his  life  takes  its 
direction  from  the  relation  in  which  he  stands  to  his 
social  environment,  and  individual  welfare  can  only 
reach  its  maximum  when  it  is  kept  in  consistency 
with  the  common  whole. 

The  theory  of  evolution  renders  individualistic  pre- 
suppositions untenable,  and  shows  that  the  progress 
of  civilisation  and  the  welfare  of  society  depend  on 
the  extension  of  the  sense  of  duty  which  each  man 
owes  to  society  at  large.  The  morality  of  actions  is 
therefore  to  be  estimated  from  the  effects  which  they 
have,  not  only  on  the  individual,  but  also  on  the  com- 
munity of  which  he  forms  a  part.  Regard  for  the 
welfare  of  others  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  sentiment 
or  philanthropy,  but  a  fundamental  condition  of  social 
progress.  Moralists  are  arriving  at  the  same  conclu- 
sions from  other  data.  Professor  Henry  Jones  has 
said:  "Modern  ethics  has  discovered,  I  can  almost 
say  for  the  first  time,  the  relations  which  bind  the 
individual  to  his  fellows,  and  which  make  him,  as  he 
never  was  before,  a  member  of  a  moral  partnership 
which  contains  the  living  and  the  dead.     He  is  now 


62  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

known  as  the  heir  of  the  achievements  of  his  people, 
and  the  organ  of  its  far-reaching  purposes.  He  has 
not  to  confront  the  task  of  living  a  moral  life  in  the 
weakness  and  nakedness  of  individualism,  but  the 
pulse  and  the  power  of  the  whole  beat  within  him. 
If  he  has  learnt  for  the  first  time  that  all  men  are 
his  brethren,  and  that  his  duty  is  not  to  save  himself 
but  man,  the  sense  of  his  privilege  has  received  the 
same  illimitable  expansion.  If  it  is  his  duty  to  save  the 
world,  the  world  is  there  to  help  him  to  perform  it."  1 
It  must  be  admitted  that  hitherto  the  objects 
which  have  been  kept  in  view  by  individuals  and 
communities  have  been  of  an  egoistic  nature,  al- 
though there  is  now  a  tendency  towards  those  of  an 
altruistic  or  social  nature.  The  conflict  between 
these  two  tendencies  is,  in  fact,  at  the  root  of  all  the 
labour  problems  of  the  day,  and,  as  I  have  said,  it 
can  be  settled  only  by  a  constant  appeal  to  moral 
principles.  The  data  of  the  economics  of  the  future 
will  therefore  differ  from  those  of  the  past  in  regard- 
ing the  true  life  of  man,  and  not  the  mere  production 
of  material  wealth,  as  the  ideal  to  be  kept  in  view ; 
and  the  whole  will  be  consciously  dominated  by  a 
social  purpose,  this  purpose  being  the  elevation  of  all 
men  to  similar  prospects  of  true  life  in  labour,  for 
no  social  organism  can  be  in  a  healthy  condition 
when  its  members  do  not  feel  that  they  depend  on 
one  another.  Mere  improvement  in  the  organisa- 
tion of  industry  will  therefore  not  be  enough.  What 
is  wanted  above  all  is  a  new  spirit  in  economics,  the 
spirit  of  mutual  help,  the  sense  of  the  common  good. 
If  all  felt  that  their  daily  work  should  be  directed  not 

1 "  Inaugural  Address,"  Glasgow  University,  p.  10. 


n  CONDITIONS  OF  DEVELOPMENT  63 

only  to  personal  but  also  to  social  ends,  and  that 
idleness  or  anti-social  work  was  a  disgrace,  our  social 
and  economic  problems  would  soon  disappear. 

If  therefore  criticism  be  passed  upon  a  particular 
form  of  individual  organisation  or  of  society  gener- 
ally, or  even  of  any  measure  intended  to  affect  that 
society,  it  must  be  founded  on  moral  and  not  simply 
on  economic  grounds.  The  battle  between  individ- 
ualism and  socialism  must  be  fought  out  mainly 
with  ethical  weapons.  Socialists  may  rest  assured 
that,  while  they  may  ignore  economic  principles,  they 
cannot  escape  their  consequences,  and  they  must  be 
prepared  for  the  inevitable  results  of  their  social  and 
economic  arrangements.  Individualists,  on  the  other 
hand,  must  recognise  that  no  organisation  of  indus- 
try or  of  society  can  endure  which  does  not  conform 
to  moral  principles  and  lead  to  the  welfare  of  the 
whole  community,  and  not  simply  to  the  accumula- 
tion of  material  wealth  and  the  enrichment  of  a 
favoured  few. 

The  science  of  economics  requires  to  undergo  the 
same  kind  of  modification  as  that  through  which  the 
science  of  the  steam-engine  is  passing,  so  that  its 
conclusions  may  be  made  to  agree  with  the  condi- 
tions necessary  for  individual  and  social  welfare.  This 
has  been  done  to  a  certain  extent,  although  in  an 
unsystematic  manner,  by  Ruskin,  who  has  tried  to 
subordinate  all  his  results  to  moral  ends,  and  his 
methods  are  being  followed  somewhat  unconsciously 
by  economists.  Ruskin  has  reminded  us  that  "the 
disturbing  elements  in  the  social  problem  are  not  of 
the  same  nature  as  the  constant  ones  :  they  alter  the 
nature  of  the  creature  under  examination  the  moment 


64  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap,  ii 

they  are  added ;  they  operate,  not  mathematically,  but 
chemically,  introducing  conditions  which  render  all 
our  previous  knowledge  unavailable.  We  have  made 
learned  experiments  upon  pure  nitrogen,  and  have 
convinced  ourselves  that  it  is  a  very  manageable  gas  ; 
but  behold,  the  thing  which  we  have  practically  to 
deal  with  is  its  chloride,  and  this,  the  moment  we 
touch  it  on  our  established  principles,  sends  us  and 
our  apparatus  through  the  ceiling."  ' 

The  complete  discussion  of  morality  as  a  basis  for 
economics  is  a  very  large  subject,  upon  which  there 
are  extreme  varieties  of  opinion,  but  it  seems  to  me 
that  the  only  solid  method  of  procedure  is  that  fol- 
lowed in  all  other  departments  of  science,  namely,  the 
collection  of  facts  connected  with  moral  phenomena 
and  sociology,  as  recorded  in  history.  From  these 
we  must  find  out  by  careful  analysis  what  lines  of 
conduct  have  tended  most  to  the  advancement  and 
ennoblement  of  society,  and  to  the  consequent  gen- 
eral welfare  of  the  race.  In  short,  morality  must  be 
founded  on  a  knowledge  of  the  concrete  constitution 
of  human  nature  and  of  society,  and  to  this  all  the 
economic  laws  which  are  applied  to  human  life  and 
Conduct  must  be  conformed.  It  is  only  when  the 
counsel  given  by  economics  and  morals  regarding 
any  proposed  course  of  action  coincides,  that  the 
movement  may  be  regarded  as  ratified  and  its 
grounds  as  verified.  We  will  therefore  proceed  to 
consider  some  of  the  facts  which  may  enable  us  to 
reach  conclusions  regarding  the  best  forms  of  the 
organisation  of  industry,  and  which  are  the  most 
important  factors  in  the  organisation  of  society. 

1  Unto  this  Last,  p.  3. 


CHAPTER  III 

EARLY  CORPORATE  AND  STATE  REGULATION  OF 
INDUSTRY 

Under  the  feudal  system  the  social  conditions  of 
the  people  had  many  features  of  a  socialistic  nature. 
In  fact  it  has  been  said  that  "  the  socialistic  introduc- 
purpose  of  feudal  communities  was  to  ren-  tory- 
der  property  subservient  to  the  feudal  ideal,  and  to 
make  and  maintain  a  military  system  of  which  the 
king  was  head.  A  definite  place  in  the  complete 
system  was  given  to  each  class  of  baron,  tenant,  serf 
and  cottager  who  had  dwelling  room  in  the  land.  It 
was  a  system  of  socialism  more  thorough  than  any- 
thing which  has  even  been  imagined  by  modern  en- 
thusiasts." 1  While  we  may  decline  to  admit  the 
truth  of  the  last  statement,  it  cannot  be  denied  that, 
notwithstanding  all  the  drawbacks  of  the  system,  the 
socialists  have  some  grounds  for  speaking  of  the  good 
old  days  of  the  feudal  system  with  something  more 
than  approval,  affording  as  they  did  opportunities  for 
an  open-air,  natural  life,  accompanied,  it  might  be,  by 
few  luxuries,  but  generally  by  a  rude  plenty  and  by 
possibilities  for  art,  at  least  in  its  social  applications, 
such  as  are  not  likely  to  be  found  under  a  system  of 
selfish  competition.  Whatever  industry  was  carried 
on  was  almost  entirely  for  local  use  and  not  for  profit, 

1  Mackay,  The  English  Poor,  p.  33. 
F  65 


66  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

although  in  some  special  cases  it  was  for  purposes  of 
exchange  of  commodities  not  produced  in  the  locality. 
"  That  village  communities  working  on  a  co-operative 
plan  existed  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  that  something 
resembling  them  existed  in  antiquity,  is,  as  far  as  it 
goes,  an  evidence  that  industrial  co-operation  will 
return,  though  in  a  form  adapted  to  its  new  sur- 
roundings. That  a  fraternal  spirit  prevailed  where 
this  plan  was  in  operation,  and  that  justice  rather 
than  force  presided  over  the  distribution  of  wealth, 
affords  some  evidence  that  this  moral  force  will  do  a 
similar  work  in  the  modern  world."  x 

Professor  Thorold  Rogers  was  of  opinion  that  "  the 
ordinary  hardships  of  human  life  were  greater,  and 
more  general,  six  centuries  ago  than  they  are  now. 
Life  was  briefer,  old  age  came  earlier,  disease  was 
more  deadly,  the  risks  of  existence  were  more  numer- 
ous. The  race  was  smaller,  weaker,  more  stunted. 
But  the  extremes  of  wealth  and  poverty  were,  by  the 
fact  of  these  common  conditions,  less  widely  sepa- 
rated. Above  all  things,  what  is  now  characteristic 
of  human  life,  that  one  half  of  the  world  does  not 
know  how  the  other  half  lives  —  a  very  moderate 
statement  of  the  fact  —  was  not  true  of  early  ages  of 
English  progress."2 

There  were,  however,  social  and  economic  forces 
in  operation  which  brought  about  the  downfall  of  the 
feudal  system,  and  by  about  the  beginning  of  the 
fifteenth  century  it  had  practically  broken  down,  as 
it  was  not  capable  of  expanding  in  production.  Land- 
lords gradually  turned  their  arable  land  into  pasture, 

1  Professor  John  B.  Clark,  The  Philosophy  of  Wealth,  p.  1 75. 

2  Work  and  Wages,  p.  80. 


in        EARLY  CORPORATE  AND  STATE  REGULATION       67 

and  thus  required  fewer  labourers.  Large  numbers 
of  men  were  thrown  on  the  labour  market,  many  of 
whom  went  to  towns  and  engaged  in  trade  and  com- 
merce, and  thus  brought  about  a  complete  change  in 
the  economic  conditions  of  the  country.  Markets 
and  fairs  came  into  existence  in  order  to  facilitate 
the  process  of  barter  by  the  artisans  or  craftsmen  for 
the  agricultural  produce  from  the  rural  districts.  In- 
dustrial society  thus  gradually  became  divided  into 
merchants  and  craftsmen,  both  of  whom  founded 
guilds  for  the  furtherance  of  their  own  interests  and 
the  promotion  of  the  welfare  of  the  members. 

It  is  true  that  the  Saxons  had  associations  or  guilds 
for  mutual  help  and  for  social  and  religious  purposes, 
but  it  was  onlywhen  the  feudal  system  began  Merchant 
to  disintegrate  that  they  attained  anything  Guilds, 
like  importance  either  socially  or  economically.  The 
merchant  guilds  were  founded  chiefly  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  and  maintaining  the  privilege  of  the 
monopoly  of  carrying  on  trade  in  each  town,  as  against 
the  other  inhabitants,  and  for  the  protection  of  liberty, 
property  and  trade  against  the  violence  of  the  neigh- 
bouring nobles,  ecclesiastics,  or  from  plundering  ma- 
rauders. On  the  Continent  especially  they  attained 
to  positions  of  great  power.  The  qualification  for 
admission  to  the  merchant  guilds  was  the  possession 
of  land  of  a  certain  value  within  the  territory  of  the 
town ;  this  was  sufficient  to  exclude  the  poorer  free- 
man and  the  craftsman,  and  the  gradual  accumulation 
of  riches  led  to  an  ever-increasing  breach  between 
the  parties.  Only  those  were  permitted  to  remain 
in  the  guild  who  carried  on  wholesale  trade,  so  that 
the  members  became  virtually  the  rulers  of  the  town, 


68  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

and  were  able  to  throw  the  whole  of  the  taxes  upon 
the  craftsmen  and  the  general  body  of  the  people. 
Hence  arose  many  struggles,  which  led  to  modifica- 
tions of  the  system  of  government,  in  which  there 
was  an  admixture  of  merchants  and  craftsmen. 

These  struggles,  of  course,  led  to  the  strengthen- 
ing of  the  union  which  existed  between  the  crafts- 
Craft  men  and  the  poorer  freemen,  and,  as  the 
Guilds.  numDer  0f  people  divorced  from  the  land 
increased,  the  craft  guilds  became  very  important 
organisations.  Their  development  marks  the  transi- 
tion period  from  the  family  to  the  guild  system  of 
industry.  The  first  craft  guilds  to  come  into  promi- 
nent notice  were  those  of  the  weavers  and  fullers  of 
woollen  cloth,  as  they  both  took  a  specially  active 
part  in  resisting  the  oppression  of  the  old  governing 
bodies.  Clothing  being  one  of  the  most  general 
articles  of  manufacture,  the  industries  mentioned 
would  naturally  be  those  which  first  became  of  im- 
portance, although  the  bakers  seem  to  have  been 
organised  about  the  same  time.  As,  however,  baking 
long  remained  a  family  industry,  the  guild  connected 
with  it  does  not  seem  ever  to  have  attained  much 
importance. 

The  constitutions  of  the  craft  guilds  were  very 
similar  to  those  of  the  merchant  guilds,  from  which 
they  were  copied,  and  the  chief  provision  in  them 
was,  that  no  one  within  the  town  or  district  should 
be  allowed  to  follow  the  craft,  unless  he  belonged  to 
the  guild  with  the  object  of  promoting  its  interests. 
It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  their  regulations 
at  least  show  some  care  for  the  interests  of  the  con- 
sumers.    In   certain  trades,   for  instance,  work  was 


in        EARLY  CORPORATE  AND  STATE  REGULATION       69 

forbidden  after  curfew,  because  it  was  impossible  to 
work  so  neatly  by  night  as  by  day.  They  recognised 
that  the  business  of  the  manufacturer  was  to  supply 
good  and  beautiful  materials  at  honest  prices,  and 
that  of  the  purveyor  of  agricultural  produce  to  feed 
the  people,  and  not  to  squeeze  money  out  of  their 
necessities.  Like  many  other  institutions,  however, 
they  degenerated,  and  the  craft  guilds  latterly  became 
mere  capitalist  trading  companies,  and  did  all  they 
could,  by  limiting  production  and  by  other  means,  to 
increase  their  own  profit.  To  escape  from  this  op- 
pression, trade  migrated  to  new  districts,  and  the 
people  followed  the  industries  which  had  hitherto 
been  the  staple  of  the  towns,  consequently  the  pros- 
perity of  the  older  towns  decreased.  Further,  it  can- 
not be  doubted  that  the  craft  guilds  acted  in  a  very 
arbitrary  manner  towards  the  poorer  freemen,  and  as 
they  themselves  had  been  oppressed  by  the  merchant 
guilds,  so  they  in  turn  oppressed  those  who  were 
outside  their  organisation. 

Formal  apprenticeships  to  crafts  do  not  seem  to 
have  been  customary  till  about  the  beginning  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  each  member  simply  picking  up 
the  details  of  his  craft  as  best  he  could,  very  often 
in  his  father's  house.  At  this  time,  however,  seven 
years  were  fixed  as  the  term  of  apprenticeship  nec- 
essary before  setting  up  as  a  master.  As  trade  in- 
creased, the  richer  craftsmen  employed  some  of  the 
poorer  or  younger  members,  and  thus  arose  the  new 
class  of  journeymen  ;  but  a  master  seldom  had  more 
than  two  journeymen  and  two  apprentices.  Special 
attention  was  paid  to  the  training,  both  moral 
and   technical,    of   the   apprentices,    and   their   skill 


^ 


70  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

was  tested  before  they  were  admitted  to  member- 
ship. 

The  guilds  made  regulations  for  the  prevention  of 
fraud  and  for  the  encouragement  of  good  workman- 
ship, they  prevented  serious  competition  among  the 
guild  brothers,  as  being  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  good 
brotherhood,  and  they  helped  the  members  when  in 
any  domestic  difficulties.  In  short,  they  stood  in  the 
same  relationship  to  their  members  as  the  head  of  a 
family  did  to  his  children  and  dependants,  their 
fundamental  principle  being  that  each  member  should 
be  responsible  for  all,  as  regards  conduct,  support, 
protection  and  advancement,  and  that  all  should 
work,  not  solely  for  their  own  advantage,  but  chiefly 
for  the  reputation  and  good  of  the  trade.  The  guilds 
were  also  responsible  collectively  to  the  State  for  the 
general  conduct  of  their  members,  and  to  aid  in  this, 
each  one  had  its  patron  saint ;  and  if  a  craftsman 
stood  apart,  he  lost  the  protection  and  incurred  the 
displeasure  of  this  saint,  so  that  religion  was  made  to 
play  a  very  important  part  in  the  discipline  of  the 
guilds,  and  religious  observances  received  much  atten- 
tion from  the  members. 

The  objects  of  the  trade  or  craft  guilds  were  excel- 
lent, and  for  a  considerable  time  their  administration 
was  good ;  but  as  they  increased  in  power  the  usual 
spirit  of  monopolists  developed,  and,  like  the  mer- 
chant guilds,  the  use  of  their  power  and  privileges 
very  often  degenerated,  as  I  have  remarked,  into 
petty  despotism.  The  history  of  their  decay  is  ob- 
scure,1 and  there  is  considerable  difference  of  opinion 

1  Cf.  Ashley,  Economic  History  and  Theory,  vol.  i.  part  ii.  p.  155. 


/ 

in        EARLY  CORPORATE  AND  STATE  REGULATION       J\ 

as  to  the  objects  and  results  of  legislation,  but  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  violent  break  in  their  con- 
tinuity, as  is  sometimes  stated.  Slowly-acting  eco- 
nomic causes  simply  left  them  stranded,  and  they 
.  either  disappeared  altogether,  or  they  showed  their 
existence  only  by  occasional  processions  or  a  good 
deal  of  feasting. 

Within  the  past  few  years,  however,  some  of  them 
have  made  an  attempt  to  justify  their  continuance  by 
doing  something  to  advance  technical  education.  A 
more  thorough  treatment,  however,  is  necessary  to 
bring  them  into  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  times. 
In  France  all  guilds  disappeared  with  other  privileges 
in  the  storm  of  the  Revolution.  In  Germany  they 
died  a  lingering  death,  and  their  last  remnants  dis- 
appeared in  1869,  when  the  North  German  Industrial 
Code  was  enacted. 

The  history  of  the  various  attempts  at  the  State 
control  of  industry  is  a  very  interesting,  but  at  the 
same  time  a  very  long  one,  and  its  full  State 
treatment  quite  beyond  our  present  scope.  Regulation. 
Many  useful  lessons,  however,  may  be  learned  from 
the  conditions  of  trade  under  the  feudal  system  and 
the  merchant  and  craft  guilds.  So  interwoven  with 
all  that  concerned  social  and  industrial  life  were  their 
laws  and  customs,  that  they  continued  to  influence 
the  statute  law  of  the  country  for  several  centuries. 

\ Moreover,  the  influence  of  the  Canon  Law  on  custom 
and  legislation  was  very  remarkable,  and  present  ten- 
dencies seem  to  indicate  a  return  to  some  of  its 
requirements.  Its  economic  teaching  was  really  a 
branch  of  theology,  and  was  a  development  in  a 
modified  environment  of  the  principles  to  which  the 


72  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

Church  had  given  its  sanction  in  earlier  times.  By 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  it  had  been  formed 
into  a  complete  and  systematic  economic  doctrine, 
which  touched  every  side  of  the  economic  life  of  the 
time. 

The  Reformation  destroyed  this,  as  well  as  many 
other  things,  and  the  economic  results  of  the  action 
have  never  been  fully  studied,  and  in  fact  are  only 
now  beginning  to  be  recognised.  Like  other  catas- 
trophic movements,  while  reforming  much  that  was 
bad,  it  also  swept  away,  somewhat  thoughtlessly, 
much  that  was  good,  and  put  nothing  in  its  place, 
thus  illustrating  the  necessity  for  all  social  and  eco- 
nomic changes  being  evolutionary  and  not  revolu- 
tionary. 

The  reigns  following  the  Reformation  saw  the  en- 
actment of  a  large  body  of  positive  law  for  the  regu- 
lation of  trade  and  industry  which  was  often  vexatious 
^anjd^  routine  in  its  nature.  The  remnants  of  the  guild 
customs  still  fettered  the  development  of  manufact- 
ures, and  the  Law  of  Settlement  prevented  the  free 
movement  of  workers  from  one  part  of  the  country 
to  another.  The  external  trade  of  the  country  was 
hampered  by  many  restrictions  which  were  made  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  what  was  known  as  a  favour- 
able balance  of  trade,  by  making,  if  possible,  the  ex- 
ports greater  than  the  imports,  and  by  endeavouring 
to  procure  the  amount  due  for  this  excess  in  actual 
bullion.  To  effect  this  purpose  various  measures 
were  put  into  force,  such  as  high  duties  on  foreign 
goods,  drawbacks  or  bounties  on  exports,  and  monop- 
olies with  colonies. 

Adam  Smith  remarked  in  1776  that  England  was 


in        EARLY  CORPORATE  AND  STATE  REGULATION       73 

then  blessed  with  free  internal  trade  in  all  commodi- 
ties except  labour,  and  it  was  against  this  state  of 
matters  that  he  directed  his  efforts.  He  founded  his 
theory  of  political  economy  on  the  assumption  that 
industry  should  be  free  from  Government  interfer- 
ence, and  that  each  man's  self-interest  must  prove 
each  man's  best  teacher.  Competition  was  supposed 
to  have  its  perfect  way,  and  enlightened  selfishness 
was  taken  to  be  the  guide  to  economic  conduct.  His 
work  was  chiefly  of  a  negative  character,  and  his  main 
object  was  to  discredit  and  overthrow  the  economic 
system  then  prevalent,  and  to  show  the  radical  unfit- 
ness of  the  existing  European  governments  to  direct 
the  industrial  movement. 

All  Smith's  conclusions,  however,  were  limited  by 
another  assumption,  which  his  successors  have  too 
often  pushed  aside,  namely,  that  there  is  a  natural 
order  of  things  which  corresponds  with  a  divine 
order,  and  that  free  competition  between  man  and 
man  was  regulated  by  a  higher  Power,  which  in  the 
end  directed  individual  actions  in  the  best  interests  of 
the  whole  community.  If  Smith  had  lived  for  another 
quarter  of  a  century,  the  early  days  of  the  factory 
system  would  have  shown  him  that  his  assumption 
was  not  justified.  Since  his  time  the  development  of 
machinery  has  profoundly  altered  the  conditions,  and 
made  free  competition  practically  impossible  to  large 
masses  of  the  people,  and  hence  rendered  many  of 
his  conclusions  inapplicable  to  the  requirements  of 
the  times.  He  was,  however,  no  believer  in  absolute 
laissez-faire,  and  never  had  any  scruple  about  sacrific- 
ing liberty  of  contract  when  the  sacrifice  was  de- 
manded by  the  great  moral  end  of  government,  the 


74  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap,  hi 

maintenance  of  just  and  human  dealing  between  man 
and  man.  Indeed,  Brentano  thinks  that  Smith  would 
have  been  a  Socialist  of  the  Chair  to-day  if  he  were 
alive.  Without  going  quite  so  far  as  this,  we  may 
say  that  he  would  not  be  disposed  to  differ  from  the 
opinion  of  Dr.  Ingram  that  "  the  final  and  fully  nor- 
mal treatment  of  the  economic  life  of  societies  must 
be  constituted  on  other  and  more  lasting  foundations 
than  those  which  underlie  his  imposing  construction."1 
We  will  in  a  future  chapter  shortly  consider  a  few  of 
the  more  important  recent  developments  of  the  State 
control  of  industry,  some  of  which  are  of  a  direct  and 
others  of  an  indirect  nature ;  but  it  should  be  noted 
that  the  assumption  of  free  competition  and  the  action 
of  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  were  the  guiding 
principles  of  politicians  for  many  a  day,  and  explained 
their  opposition  to  any  form  of  combination  among 
the  workers,  and  to  any  proposals  for  a  systematic 
organisation  of  industry. 

1  History  of  Political  Economy,  p.  107. 


CHAPTER   IV 

INDIVIDUAL    INDUSTRY 

In  no  department  of  human  life  is  the  law  of  evo- 
lution so  evident  as  in  that  of  industry.  A  glance  at 
its  history  shows  that  it  has  proceeded  from  introduc- 
an  indefinite  incoherent  homogeneity  to  a  tory# 
definite  coherent  heterogeneity,  and  that  it  includes 
a  number  of  simultaneous  movements.  In  this 
chapter  we  will  note  some  of  the  most  important 
points  in  the  development  of  its  simplest  form, 
namely,  that  of  industry  carried  on  by  individualistic 
methods. 

The  decay  and  practical  disappearance  of  the  guild 
system  led  to  a  long  period  of  anarchy  in  all  indus- 
trial operations.  Goods  were  produced  on  industrial 
what  might  be  called  the  domestic  system,  Evolutlon- 
although  some  of  the  old  guild  rules  continued  to 
survive.  The  manufacturer  then  existed  in  the  literal 
sense  of  that  term,  for  the  goods  were  produced  either 
directly  by  his  own  hands  or  by  those  of  his  appren- 
tices, and  division  of  labour  was  not  carried  out  to 
any  extent.  Each  worker  was  generally  able  to  per- 
form all  the  operations  required  throughout  the  dif- 
ferent stages  of  production.  In  those  days  there  was 
neither  capitalist  nor  proletaire,  and  seldom  either 
master  or  servant,  for  the  apprentices  really  became 
members  of  the  family.     A  system  of  petty  industry 

75 


y6  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

obtained  generally,  based  upon  the  private  property 
of  the  labourer  in  the  means  of  production.  In  the 
country  the  peasant,  freeman  or  serf  followed  agricult- 
ure, and  owned  the  implements,  and  practically  also 
the  land  he  was  allowed  to  use.  In  the  towns  the 
craftsman  owned  the  tools  and  instruments  of  pro- 
duction, and  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  division 
of  labour  among  the  members  of  his  family.  For 
instance,  in  spinning  and  weaving  the  wife  and 
daughters  carded  and  spun,  while  the  father  and 
sons  wove  the  cloth.  They  were  masters  of  their 
own  labour,  and  effected  their  own  exchange  very 
often  without  the  aid  of  a  middleman. 

There  was  a  gradual  progression  from  apprentice 
to  journeyman,  and  from  journeyman  to  master  own- 
ing his  tools,  and  all  the  workers  were  thoroughly 
trained  in  the  secrets  of  their  craft.  Technical  skill 
continued  to  be  tested,  as  in  the  Middle  Ages,  by 
requiring  the  apprentice  to  present  a  masterpiece 
before  his  recognition  as  a  journeyman.  Very  often 
the  skilful  journeyman  married  the  daughter  of  the 
master,  and  thus  trades  were  continued  in  families 
from  generation  to  generation.  In  those  days  wages 
and  prices  were  chiefly  regulated  by  custom,  which 
often  became  so  fixed  that  it  was  looked  upon  as  one 
of  the  physical  laws  of  the  universe.  In  short,  the 
conditions  of  manufactures  and  of  trade  in  the  mid- 
dle of  last  century  were  more  like  those  of  Greek  and 
Roman  civilisation  twenty  centuries  before,  than 
those  of  only  one  century  afterwards. 

The  inventions  of  Arkwright,  Hargreaves  and 
others  in  the  department  of  textile  industries,  and 
above  all  the  improvements  made  by  James  Watt  on 


INDIVIDUAL   INDUSTRY 


77 


the  steam-engine,  changed  all  this,  and  led  to  the 
rapid  development  of  the  factory  system,  with  all  its 
attendant  advantages  and  disadvantages.  They  enor- 
mously cheapened  production,  but  they  reduced  the 
workers  to  the  position  of  mere  hands,  for  souls  and 
brains  became  of  secondary  importance. 

At  the  same  time  they  completely  shifted  the 
centre  of  magnitude  of  economic  power,  for  the 
wealth  of  the  manufacturers  increased  much  faster 
than  that  of  the  landed  aristocracy.  This,  again,  led 
to  serious  political  changes,  such  as  the  Reform  Act 
of  1832  and  the  Repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws,  which  in 
reality  were  measures  passed  in  the  interests  of  the 
manufacturing  and  middle  classes.  The  first  gave 
them  political  power,  the  second  enabled  them  to 
obtain  cheap  labour  with  which  to  extend  their  indus- 
trial conquests.  And  yet  ordinary  historians  regard 
both  as  measures  passed  for  the  special  benefit  of 
the  workers.  The  latter,  however,  are  beginning  to 
read  history  in  a  different  manner. 

The  textile  industries,  from  the  uniformity  of  their 
operations,  afforded  peculiar  opportunities  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  factory  system,  which,  however,  has 
extended  to  the  other  large  industries  of  the  country. 
That  of  iron,  for  instance,  became  concentrated  in 
certain  districts,  and  the  mechanical  improvements 
in  its  working,  such  as  puddling,  rolling,  and  ham- 
mering, gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  manufacture. 
The  metallurgical  improvements,  such  as  the  hot- 
blast,  the  Bessemer  and  the  Siemens  processes,  have 
caused  what  are  practically  revolutions  in  the  in- 
dustry and  the  trades  connected  with  it,  such  as 
engineering   and    shipbuilding.     The    application    of 


yg  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

mechanical  contrivances  to  what  were  formerly  man- 
ual trades  and  operations  threatens  to  extinguish  the 
individual  workers,  or  at  least  to  drive  them  all  into 
large  factories  to  turn  out  products  as  similar  as  pins, 
and  to  convert  their  bodies  into  supplements  of  the 
machines  they  attend.  Even  agriculture  falls  to  a 
very  large  extent  under  the  factory  system,  and  in 
new  countries  especially  we  find  large  tracts  of  land 
entirely  cultivated  by  machinery.  The  result,  no 
doubt,  is  cheaper  food,  but  what  does  this  matter  to 
those  who  cannot  find  work  to  enable  them  to  pur- 
chase it  ? 

The  evolution  of  the  capitalist  proceeded  as  rapidly 
as  that  of  the  system  of  which  he  was  the  moving 
spirit.  To  begin  with,  he  was,  as  we  have  seen,  gen- 
erally a  workman  who  had  little  beyond  his  tools  and 
his  skill  and  energy  to  depend  upon,  although  in 
some  cases  he  was  backed  up  by  men  who  had  made 
money  from  land,  banking  or  commerce.  With 
abundance  of  raw  materials,  cheap  labour,  large 
markets,  and  consequent  enormous  profits,  his  busi- 
ness extended  rapidly  and  his  species  multiplied 
quickly.  Managers,  foremen,  and  intelligent  work- 
men were  eager  for  a  share  of  the  spoil,  and  many 
started  factories  or  works  of  their  own.  This  occa- 
sioned competition  and  the  cutting  down  of  profits. 

It  also  led  to  the  improvement  of  mechanical  appli- 
ances and  to  a  great  increase  in  the  size  of  factories,  a 
process  which  has  been  still  further  stimulated  by  the 
action  of  joint-stock  companies.  When  the  founder 
of  a  factory  died,  he  usually  left  his  business  to  his 
children,  and  they,  not  having  the  ability  of  their 
father,  were  very  often  under  the  necessity  of  engag- 


iv  INDIVIDUAL  INDUSTRY 


79 


ing  a  manager.  By  and  by  the  manager  and  other 
employees  expected  a  share  in  the  business,  and  thus 
gradually  was  evolved  the  joint-stock  company. 

At  first  the  liability  of  the  shareholders  in  such  a 
company  was  unlimited,  and  they  were  responsible  to 
their  last  farthing  for  its  debts ;  but  by  and  by  the 
Limited  Liability  Acts,  which  confine  the  liability  of 
the  shareholders  to  the  amount  of  the  capital  they  have 
invested,  were  passed  into  law,  and  they  have  been 
most  important  factors  in  the  evolution  of  industry. 

The  action  of  the  Limited  Liability  Acts  had  a 
great  tendency  to  rapidly  extinguish  the  individual 
manufacturers,  for  very  often  the  companies  sold 
their  goods  not  only  for  no  profit,  but  actually  at  a 
loss,  which,  however,  being  distributed  over  a  large 
body  of  shareholders,  was  not  much  felt.  The  indi- 
vidual manufacturers  were  driven  to  combine  among 
themselves  and  form  other  companies,  and  thus  the 
process  went  on  in  increasing  ratio,  both  as  regards 
the  number  and  magnitude  of  the  concerns  involved. 
Competition  between  companies  became  more  and 
more  severe,  and  the  tendency  is  still  towards  further 
combination  and  concentration,  until  a  practical  mo- 
nopoly can  be  obtained  in  different  departments  of 
trade  and  industry.  Although  working  expenses 
are  very  much  reduced,  the  benefit  goes  chiefly  to 
the  shareholders,  and  the  public  is  squeezed  to  an 
enormous  extent  by  prices  being  raised  to  suit  the 
companies,  and  for  a  time  vast  fortunes  are  realised. 

Gradually,  however,  other  companies  are  started 
and  the  competition  increases.  Prices  are  cut  down 
and  wages  lowered.  No  doubt  the  public  obtain 
cheap  commodities,  if  they  have  the  money  to  pur- 


80  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

chase  them,  which  they  very  often  have  not,  and  the 
result  is  that  a  residuum  is  always  being  rapidly 
produced.  Not  only  is  this  true  of  the  workers  but 
also  of  the  manufacturers.  Small  competitors  are 
crushed  out  without  pity  or  remorse.  When  the 
original  shareholders  think  that  they  have  got  to 
about  the  length  of  their  tether,  the  private  limited 
liability  company  is  converted  into  a  public  one,  with 
a  capital  not  calculated  on  the  actual  money  invested, 
but  on  the  profits  made  during  the  past  few  years  ; 
and  thus  there  is  imposed  upon  the  people  a  burden, 
which  is  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  sacred  rights  of 
property,  and  which  is  expected  to  continue  so  long 
as  the  earth  endures. 

During  the  process  of  evolution  which  we  have 
sketched  "the  wastes  of  the  competitive  system  are 
so  enormous  as  to  be  awful ;  its  operations  are  as 
cruel  as  the  laws  of  Nature.  In  its  onward  march  it 
crushes  and  grinds  to  powder  human  existences  by 
the  million;  its  rubbish  has  magnitude  of  tremendous 
proportions,  and  this  rubbish  consists  of  human 
beings  with  minds,  hearts  and  souls,  —  men,  good 
men  often  ;  women,  and  very  frequently  indeed  inno- 
cent women,  women  with  precious  gifts  which  ought 
to  be  developed  for  themselves  and  others  ;  and  little 
children  with  all  their  possibilities."1  Such  a  con- 
dition must  necessarily  keep  society  in  a  state  of 
unstable  equilibrium  and  raise  many  social  problems 
of  a  very  serious  nature.  Unlimited  competition  not 
only  causes  very  great  hardships  during  its  existence, 
but  it  also  inevitably  leads  to  monopoly  in  some  shape 

1  Professor  Ely,  Socialism,  p.  254. 


iv  INDIVIDUAL  INDUSTRY  Si 

or  form,  with  all  its  attendant  economic  and  social 
evils. 

A  new  development  in  the  combinations  of  capital 
has  taken  place  within  recent  years,  and  we  have 
aggregations  of  companies  under  the  names  of 
"rings,"  "trusts"  and  "syndicates."  Competing 
individuals  or  firms  agree  to  form  a  combination  to 
keep  up  prices,  to  eliminate  useless  labour,  to  dimin- 
ish risk  and  control  the  output,  and  these  institutions 
are  becoming  common  all  over  the  world.  In  this 
country  we  know  a  little  about  them,  but  our  free- 
trade  prevents  them,  except  in  unusual  circumstances, 
from  becoming  either  very  numerous  or  very  danger- 
ous. In  the  United  States  of  America,  however, 
they  have  attained  enormous  magnitude,  and  they  are 
to  be  found  in  every  department  of  trade  and  indus- 
try. Some  few  "trusts"  have  failed  through  internal 
disputes  and  other  causes,  but  generally  speaking 
they  have  greatly  enriched  their  promoters  and  share- 
holders. One  "  trust"  breeds  another,  and  new  com- 
binations are  being  formed  every  week,  and  so  the 
evolution  proceeds ;  and  in  place  of  a  field  of  free 
competition,  with  a  fair  opportunity  for  individual 
initiative  in  every  direction,  the  economic  system  of 
the  United  States  now  presents  a  group  of  centralised 
governments,  administered  by  great  capitalists  and 
combinations  of  capitalists,  who  absorb  a  large  part 
of  the  profits  of  the  industries  of  the  people.  It  has 
been  stated  that  "at  the  present  time  31,000  men 
are  reputed  to  possess  one-half  of  the  wealth  upon 
which  65,000,000  persons  depend  for  existence,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  other  half  is  owned  by  a  small 
additional  fraction  of  the  population,  leaving  the  vast 


82  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

numerical  majority  of  the  nation  without  any  con- 
siderable stake  in  the  country.  By  the  latest  esti- 
mates, based  upon  the  returns  of  the  census  of  1890, 
9  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the  United  States 
owns  71  per  cent  of  the  wealth  of  the  country,  leav- 
ing but  29  per  cent  to  the  remaining  91  per  cent  of 
the  population ;  and  4074  persons  or  families,  being 
the  richest  group  among  the  9  per  cent  mentioned, 
own  one-fifth  of  the  total  wealth  of  the  country,  or 
nearly  as  much  as  the  aggregate  holdings  of  91  per 
cent  of  the  people."  * 

The  movement  extends  to  productive  businesses  of 
all  kinds,  but  it  is  most  marked  in  those  in  which  the 
articles  are  all  of  the  same  nature.  In  those  depart- 
ments in  which  personal  skill  is  the  main  element 
there  are  still  to  be  found  private  firms  and  individual 
workers,  but  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  with  almost 
every  one  of  them  life  is  becoming  harder  and  harder, 
and  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  majority 
will  be  swallowed  up  in  the  vortex  of  the  large  con- 
cerns, if  present  methods  of  trade  and  industry  and 
above  all  ideals  of  life,  continue  to  prevail.  Fort- 
unately, as  we  shall  see  farther  on,  in  some  depart- 
ments, especially  those  of  an  artistic  nature,  these 
ideals  are  being  changed. 

It  must  be  recognised,  however,  that  in  many 
cases  the  centralising  movement  is  due  not  so  much 
to  voluntary  action,  as  to  a  dominant,  overmaster- 
ing, irresistible  tendency  of  the  times;  and  no  mat- 
ter how  much  private  enterprise  or  legislation  may 
modify  details  or  guide  the  results,  the  movement  is 

1  Edward  Bellamy,  The  Forum,  March  1894,  p.  83. 


iv  INDIVIDUAL   INDUSTRY  83 

produced  by  forces  which  are  inherent  in  the  sys- 
tem, and  are  beyond  the  control  of  individuals  or  of 
governments.  "  It  is  the  compelling  force  of  anarchy 
in  social  production  that  turns  the  limitless  perfecti- 
bility of  machinery  under  modern  industry  into  a 
compulsory  law  by  which  every  individualist  capital- 
ist must  perfect  his  machinery  more  and  more  under 
penalty  of  ruin."1  The  same  force  compels  him  to 
extend  his  field  of  production  and  to  seek  new  mar- 
kets for  his  goods,  while,  through  extreme  competi- 
tion, his  own  workers  and  those  dependent  on  them 
may  not  have  enough  to  supply  themselves  with 
sufficient  food  and  decent  clothes. 

The  same  tendency  to  concentration  is  to  be  ob- 
served in  the  work  of  distribution,  and  "universal 
providers  "  and  co-operative  organisations  are  gradu- 
ally taking  the  place  of  the  retail  dealers.  The 
struggle  for  existence  is  moreover  showing  itself 
in  another  way,  for  while  a  smaller  proportion  of 
persons  is  engaged  in  making  a  vastly  increased 
quantity  of  goods,  a  larger  proportion  is  engaged 
in  distributing  them.  This  fact  was  most  clearly 
brought  out  by  the  returns  of  the  last  census,  which 
showed  that  the  labour  saved  in  agriculture  and  manu- 
factures was  rapidly  flowing  into  the  work  of  distribu- 
tion. The  retail  prices  have  not  been  lowered  in  the 
same  proportion  as  the  cost  of  production,  and  the  trade 
which  is  not  overtaken  by  the  large  concerns  is  now 
struggled  for  by  an  increasing  number  of  retail  dealers, 
who  live  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy  in  attempting  to 
earn  a  precarious  subsistence,  and  at  the  same  time 

1  Engels,  Socialism,  Utopian  and  Scientific,  p.  61. 


84  THE   EVOLUTION  OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

degrade  the  economic  position  of  the  workers  who 
produce  the  goods  they  sell. 

Whatever  opinions  we  may  hold  as  to  the  ultimate 
form  of  the  organisation  of  industry  which  these 
movements  will  produce,  one  thing  seems  certain, 
namely,  that  it  is  a  physical  impossibility  to  restore 
to  the  people  as  individuals  the  government  of  their 
economic  interests,  at  least  in  all  that  relates  to  the 
necessaries  of  life.  The  only  alternative  to  an  eco- 
nomic oligarchy  or  plutocracy  seems  to  be  some  form 
of  collective  control.  The  capitalists  have  in  many 
cases  all  the  powers  of  feudal  nobles  with  none  of 
their  responsibilities,  a  state  of  affairs  which  cannot 
continue.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  if  the  workers 
and  retailers  should  very  often  argue,  "  Well,  if  we 
have  individualism  now,  if  what  we  see  around  us  is 
the  result  of  free  competition  and  freedom  of  con- 
tract, it  is  obvious  that  we  must  get  rid  of  individual- 
ism, and  that  in  the  best  interests  of  the  community 
we  must  restrict  and  regulate  the  play  of  economic 
forces,  so  that  they  shall  no  longer  grind  us  into  the 
dust  and  bleed  us  for  the  benefit  of  the  drones.  If 
these  be  the  fruits  of  unfettered  individualism,  we 
want  the  very  opposite.  Let  State  Socialism,  then, 
be  our  watchword."  *  This  is  a  natural,  but  at  the 
same  time  a  hasty  conclusion,  and  we  will  consider  in 
the  sequel  how  far  it  can  be  modified  when  other 
movements  at  present  going  on  are  taken  into 
account. 

A  complete  study  of  the  social  results  of  the 
modern  individualistic  system  of  industry  would  in- 

1  Westminster  Review,  November  1894,  p.  487. 


INDIVIDUAL   INDUSTRY 


85 


volve  a  review  of  the  whole  of  the  present  economic 
conditions,  and  this  is  beyond  our  present  plan  ;  but 
as  it  is  impossible  to  understand  the  opera-  Social 
tion  of  our  existing  arrangements  unless  we  Resul{s- 
observe  their  effects  on  society,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  glance  at  a  few  of  the  most  important  social 
results.  Some  of  the  economic  results  will  be  men- 
tioned later  when  speaking  of  the  different  agencies 
at  work. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  early  years  of  the  indus- 
trial revolution  are  the  darkest  in  our  nation's  history, 
and  that  the  industrial  position  we  attained  was 
bought  with  the  price  of  blood.  A  study  of  the 
Parliamentary  Reports  shows  that  this  is  no  exagger- 
ation. We  must,  however,  refer  to  these  and  other 
records  for  details  on  such  points.  The  following 
sketch  of  the  social  conditions  of  the  workers  fifty 
years  ago,  by  the  Secretary  of  the  late  Royal  Com- 
mission on  Labour,  may  be  taken  as  a  very  moderate 
account  of  the  state  of  affairs  at  that  time  :  —  "  Fifty 
years  ago,  according  to  all  competent  observers,  Eng- 
land seemed  to  stand  on  the  brink  of  a  social  revolu- 
tion. The  views  that  are  expressed  in  the  memoirs 
of  the  day  are  placed  in  a  far  more  lurid  light  by 
foreign  visitors  like  Engels,  who  came  to  study  the 
conditions  of  labour  here.  Their  works  leave  no  room 
for  doubt.  Did  any  doubt  remain,  the  numerous  par- 
liamentary papers  and  inquiries  of  the  time  would 
bring  conviction  home  to  the  most  stubborn  mind. 
Wages  were  low  and  paid  in  kind,  under  what  is 
known  as  the  truck  system.  In  other  words,  the 
employer  supplied  inferior  goods  instead  of  money, 
and  the  workman  could  not  deal  at  any  but  the  em- 


86  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

ployer's  shops  on  pain  of  dismissal,  which  meant  the 
workhouse  or  starvation  ;  the  hours  were  long  beyond 
belief,  accidents  were  common,  no  regard  was  paid  to 
human  life,  the  dwellings  were  hovels  unfit  for  human 
habitation.  If  the  men  were  treated  badly,  women 
and  children  were  treated  worse.  Cases  are  reported 
in  which  women,  with  only  a  blanket  round  them, 
were  harnessed  like  beasts  to  trucks  of  coal  under- 
ground ;  children  were  let  out  in  groups  under  over- 
seers who  brutally  and  shamefully  illtreated  them. 
There  is  no  infamy,  no  misery  that  is  now  related  of 
the  unskilled  sweated  industries,  that  cannot  be  paral- 
leled and  outdone  by  the  condition  of  the  skilled 
labourer  half  a  century  or  so  ago.  My  learned  and 
distinguished  friend  Dr.  Baernreither,  looking  back 
at  these  times,  impartially  declares  that  the  history 
of  the  West  records  perhaps  no  greater  plundering 
of  man  by  man  than  of  the  employed  by  the  employ- 
ers of  that  time."  *  Conditions  have  now  very  much 
improved,  in  the  organised  trades  at  least,  but  there 
are  still  many  dark  spots  in  our  civilisation,  and  more- 
over many  new  features  which  add  to  the  complexity 
of  the' problems. 

Before  touching  on  these,  however,  we  may  glance 
at  what  probably  strikes  superficial  observers  as  the 
most  remarkable  result  of  the  great  development  of 
machinery,  namely,  the  improvements  which  have 
taken  place  in  the  conditions  of  the  upper  and  mid- 
dle classes.  In  house  accommodation,  in  dress,  in  the 
delicacies  of  the  table,  in  the  facilities  for  travel  and 
for  intellectual  enjoyment,  and  in  fact  in  everything 

1  Geoffrey  Drage,  Eton  and  the  Labour  Question,  p.  9. 


iv  INDIVIDUAL  INDUSTRY  87 

which  should  add  to  the  happiness  of  the  human  race, 
we  are  vastly  ahead  of  every  preceding  generation. 
Before  looking  at  the  dark  side  of  life  as  found  under 
existing  conditions,  it  may  do  some  good  to  record 
the  opinions  of  a  healthy  optimist  who  professes,  after 
much  experience  and  many  labours,  to  be  glad  to  have 
lived,  and  to  be  a  resolute  opponent  of  those  who  love 
dismal  dialectics  and  drape  the  universe  in  the  black 
hangings  of  pessimism.  Sir  Edwin  Arnold  has  said  : 
"  Look  at  common  modern  existence  as  we  see  it,  and 
note  to  what  rich  elaboration  and  large  degrees  of 
comfort  it  has  come.  I  leave  aside  for  the  moment 
uncivilised  nations,  and  the  bygone  struggles  of  our 
race,  its  wars  and  woes,  its  tyrannies  and  supersti- 
tions ;  all  of  which  history  has  greatly  exaggerated, 
not  telling  us  of  the  contemporaneous  contentments. 
I  invite  you  briefly  to  contemplate  the  material  side 
of  an  artisan's  existence  in  your  own  Birmingham. 
Let  alone  the  greatness  of  being  an  Englishman,  and 
the  supreme  safety  and  liberty  of  his  daily  life,  what 
king  of  old  records  ever  fared  so  royally  ?  What  ma- 
gician of  fairy-tales  ever  owned  so  many  slaves  to 
bring  him  treasures  and  pleasures  at  a  wish  ?  Ob- 
serve his  dinner-board.  Without  being  luxurious,  the 
whole  globe  has  played  him  serving-man  to  spread  it. 
Russia  gave  the  hemp,  or  India  or  South  Carolina 
the  cotton,  for  that  cloth  which  his  wife  lays  upon  it. 
The  Eastern  islands  placed  there  those  condiments 
and  spices  which  were  once  the  secret  relishes  of  the 
wealthy.  Australian  downs  sent  him  frozen  mutton 
or  canned  beef ;  the  prairies  of  America  meal  for  his 
biscuit  and  pudding ;  and  if  he  will  eat  fruit,  the 
orchards  of  Tasmania  and  the  palm  woods  of  the  West 


88  THE  EVOLUTION  OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

Indies  proffer  delicious  gifts,  while  the  orange  groves 
of  Florida  and  of  the  Hesperides  cheapen  for  his  use 
those  'golden  apples'  which  dragons  used  to  guard. 
His  coffee  comes  from  where  jewelled  humming-birds 
hang  in  the  bowers  of  Brazil,  or  purple  butterflies 
flutter  amid  the  Javan  mangroves.  Great  clipper 
ships,  racing  by  night  and  day  under  clouds  of  canvas, 
convey  to  him  his  tea  from  China  or  Assam,  or  from 
the  green  Singhalese  hills.  The  sugar  which  sweetens 
it  was  crushed  from  canes  that  waved  by  the  Nile  or 
the  Orinoco  ;  and  the  plating  of  the  spoon  with  which 
he  stirs  it  was  dug  for  him  from  Mexican  or  Nevadan 
mines.  The  currants  in  his  dumpling  are  a  tribute 
from  classic  Greece,  and  his  tinned  salmon  or  kip- 
pered herring  are  taken  from  the  seas  and  rivers  of 
Canada  or  Norway.  He  may  partake,  if  he  will,  of 
rice  that  ripened  under  the  hot  skies  of  Patna  or 
Rangoon;  of  cocoa,  that  'food  of  the  gods,'  plucked 
under  the  burning  blue  of  the  Equator.  For  his 
rasher  of  bacon,  the  hog-express  runs  daily  with 
10,000  grunting  victims  into  Chicago ;  Dutch  or 
Brittany  hens  have  laid  him  his  eggs,  and  Danish 
cows  grazed  the  daisies  of  Elsinore  to  produce  his 
cheese  and  butter.  If  he  drinks  beer,  it  is  odds  that 
Belgium  and  Bavaria  have  contributed  to  it  the  barley 
and  the  hops  ;  and  when  he  has  finished  eating,  it  will 
be  the  Mississippi  flats  or  the  gardens  of  the  Antilles 
that  fill  for  him  his  pipe  with  the  comforting  tobacco. 
He  has  fared,  I  say,  at  home  as  no  Heliogabalus  or 
Lucullus  ever  fared  ;  and  then,  for  a  trifle,  his  daily 
newspaper  puts  at  his  command  information  from  the 
whole  globe,  the  freshness  and  fulness  of  which  make 
the  news-bearers  of  Augustus  Caesar,  thronging  hourly 


iv  INDUSTRIAL  INDUSTRY  gg 

into  Rome,  ridiculous.  At  work,  machinery  of  won- 
derful invention  redeems  his  toil  from  servitude,  and 
elevates  it  to  an  art.  Is  he  fond  of  reading  ?  There 
are  free  libraries  open  to  him,  full  of  intellectual  and 
imaginative  wealth.  Is  he  artistic?  Galleries  rich 
with  beautiful  paintings  and  statues  are  prepared  for 
him.  Has  he  children  ?  They  can  be  educated  for 
next  to  nothing.  Would  he  communicate  with  ab- 
sent friends  ?  His  messengers  pass  in  the  Queen's 
livery,  bearing  his  letters  everywhere  by  sea  and  land  ; 
or  in  hour  of  urgency  the  Ariel  of  electricity  will 
flash  for  him  a  message  to  the  ends  of  the  Kingdom 
at  the  price  of  a  quart  of  small-beer.  Steam  shall 
carry  him  wherever  he  would  go  for  a  halfpenny  a 
mile ;  and  when  he  is  ill  the  charitable  institutions 
he  has  too  often  forgotten  in  health  render  him  such 
succour  as  sick  goddesses  never  got  from  ^Esculapius, 
nor  Ulysses  at  the  white  hands  of  Queen  Helen. 
Does  he  encounter  accident  ?  For  him  as  for  all 
others  the  benignant  science  of  our  time,  with  the 
hypodermic  syringe  or  a  waft  of  chloroform,  has  abol- 
ished agony ;  while  for  dignity  of  citizenship,  he  may 
help,  when  election  time  comes,  by  his  vote  to  sus- 
tain or  to  shake  down  the  noblest  empire  ever  built 
by  genius  and  valour.  Let  fancy  fill  up  the  imperfect 
picture  with  those  thousand  helps  and  adornments 
that  civilisation  has  brought  even  to  lowly  lives ;  and 
does  it  not  seem  stupid  and  ungrateful  to  say,  as  some 
go  about  saying,  that  such  an  existence,  even  if  it 
were  transitory,  is  not  for  itself  distinctly  worth  pos- 
sessing?" 1 

1  Address  at  the  Birmingham  and  Midland  Institute,  loth  October 
1893- 


90  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

Notwithstanding  this  roseate  picture,  it  must  be 
admitted  that,  although  we  have  conquered  Nature, 
we  have  failed  to  utilise  its  forces  for  the  satisfaction 
of  our  highest  wants.  Wealth  is  too  often  used  to 
gratify  empty  vanity  or  vaulting  ambition,  to  both  of 
which  health  and  happiness  are  frequently  sacrificed. 
All  classes  of  the  community  are  drawn  into  the  race 
for  wealth,  position,  honour  or  pleasure,  and  their 
lives  become  negations,  for  they  have  not  truly  lived, 
and  the  social  instincts  are  almost  entirely  awanting 
among  the  great  majority  of  them.  The  tendency  to 
speculation,  gambling  and  betting  which  is  so  common, 
has  a  most  demoralising  effect ;  and  it  now  to  a  very 
large  extent  not  only  permeates  business  but  has  also 
invaded  what  ought  to  be  pleasures  and  recreations, 
which  are  too  often  made  the  means  of  keeping  up 
the  excitement  of  the  gambler,  and  satisfying  the 
greed  of  the  gamester. 

Comparatively  few,  moreover,  yet  seem  to  see  that 
"the  life  is  more  than  meat,  and  the  body  than 
raiment,"  and  that  happiness  does  not  always  connect 
itself  with  increase  of  wealth  and  conveniences.  The 
successful  business  man  who  strains  every  effort  in 
the  pursuit  of  wealth,  and  who  has  scarcely  a  moment 
he  can  call  leisure,  cannot  be  considered  nearly  so 
happy  as  the  working  man  who  has  steady  employment, 
and  who  is  able  to  spend  several  hours  a  day  with  his 
family  at  home,  or  in  social  enjoyment  with  them  out 
of  doors,  or  at  some  public  entertainment.  In  fact, 
on  this  point  the  working-classes  seem  to  have  clearer 
ideas  than  those  who  are  generally  considered  higher 
in  the  social  scale,  for  (the  best  among  them  at  any 
rate)  having  now  obtained  wages  which  enable  them 


INDIVIDUAL   INDUSTRY 


91 


to  subsist  in  comfort,  are  directing  their  attention  to 
obtaining  a  decrease  in  the  hours  of  labour  rather 
than  an  increase  in  remuneration,  for  they  believe 
that  their  well-being  will  be  better  furthered  by 
leisure  for  mental  improvement  and  recreation  than 
by  mere  money.  They  are  beginning  to  realise  the 
truth  of  Ruskin's  saying  that  "  what  is  chiefly  needed 
in  England  at  the  present  day  is  to  show  the  quantity 
of  pleasure  that  may  be  obtained  by  a  consistent, 
well-administered  competence,  modest,,  confessed,  la- 
borious. We  need  examples  of  people  who,  leaving 
Heaven  to  decide  whether  they  are  to  rise  in  the 
world,  decide  for  themselves  that  they  will  be  happy 
in  it,  and  have  resolved  to  seek  —  not  greater  wealth, 
but  simpler  pleasure  ;  not  higher  fortune,  but  deeper 
felicity ;  making  the  first  of  possessions  self-posses- 
sion ;  and  honouring  themselves  in  the  harmless  pride 
and  calm  pursuits  of  peace."  1 

The  questions  connected  with  wages  and  hours  of 
labour  lead  to  many  disputes  and  struggles.  Long- 
continued  and  bitter  strikes  and  lock-outs  are  too 
common,  and  they  inflict  great  hardships,  not  only 
on  those  directly  concerned,  but  also  on  many  others 
who  are  not  in  any  way  responsible  for  them.  Some 
of  these  struggles,  especially  those  which  have  oc- 
curred in  America,  have  almost  taken  the  shape  of 
civil  war,  and  have  caused  considerable  loss  of  life  and 
great  damage  to  property.  Notwithstanding  these 
fierce  outbreaks,  probably  indeed  in  consequence  of 
them,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  a  growing  wish  on 
the  part  of  all  interested  to  settle  industrial  disputes 

1  Unto  this  Last,  p.  169. 


92  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

in  a  more  rational  manner ;  and  Boards  of  Concilia- 
tion and  Arbitration  are  being  instituted  in  all  parts 
of  the  country  which  promise  useful  results. 

The  development  of  machinery  and  of  the  applica- 
tions of  science  has  slowly  but  surely  submerged  the 
old  landmarks  in  the  social,  economic  and  political 
worlds,  so  that  the  experience  of  the  past  is  no 
certain  guide  for  the  future.  Especially  has  the 
great  development  of  facilities  for  communication 
and  transport  completely  changed  past  conditions. 
It  has  shrunk  the  world  to  small  dimensions,  and  has 
equalised  economic  conditions  in  all  parts  of  it. 
Local  advantages  now  count  for  very  little,  and  the 
most  fertile  land  in  England  takes  its  value  from 
that  of  the  plains  of  India  or  the  prairies  of  America. 

The  industrial  revolution  has  been  the  means  of 
converting  individual  production  into  social  produc- 
tion, production  for  use  either  by  the  producer  him- 
self or  those  around  him  into  production  for  exchange 
in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  minute  system  of 
division  of  labour  has  made  the  workers  dependent 
very  largely  upon  each  other  and  on  the  capitalists  who 
have  been  able  to  appropriate  an  undue  share  of  the 
results  of  their  work.  The  increasing  efficiency  of 
machines  has  displaced  numerous  workers,  or  ren- 
dered their  positions  highly  unstable  by  the  want  of 
co-ordination  between  the  form  and  amount  of  pro- 
duction and  of  exchange,  which  has  caused  alter- 
nate periods  of  great  activity  and  great  depression. 
Hence  have  arisen  the  social  antagonisms  which  are 
at  the  root  of  many  of  the  difficulties  of  the  present 
day. 

The  struggle  thus  became  universal,  and  produced 


INDIVIDUAL   INDUSTRY 


93 


not  only  increased  competition,  but  wars  for  the  mar- 
kets of  the  world.  The  great  European  wars  at  the 
beginning  of  this  century  had  their  origin  in  the  in- 
dustrial revolution  and  in  the  necessity  for  obtaining 
outlets  for  the  increased  machine  production,  and 
almost  every  war  that  has  taken  place  since  may  be 
traced  either  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  same  cause. 
Moreover,  the  intense  competition  engendered  and 
the  rush  for  riches  completely  altered  the  ideals  of 
life,  which,  instead  of  being  leisurely  and  enjoyable, 
became  a  mere  scramble  for  existence  and  possession. 
The  difficulties  of  the  problems  are  increased  by 
the  fact  that  there  are  practically  no  means  of  co- 
ordinating supply  and  demand.  Every  manufacturer 
produces  what  he  thinks  some  one  will  give  him  a 
good  price  for,  and  if  many  others  select  the  same 
department  there  is  a  glut  in  the  market.  The  work- 
ers are  consequently  thrown  out  of  employment,  and 
although  prices  fall,  they  are  unable  to  purchase  the 
goods  they  require,  and  hence  the  paradox  of  modern 
industry,  that  plenty  is  the  cause  of  starvation. 
Power-looms  weaving  millions  of  yards  of  cotton 
cloth  and  bakeries  sending  forth  tons  of  loaves  only 
add  to  the  misery,  if  the  cloth  cannot  be  brought  to 
the  bare  backs  and  the  bread  to  the  empty  stomachs. 
These  industrial  fluctuations  have  been  most  distinc- 
tive features  of  the  industrial  revolution,  and  one  of 
the  chief  objects  to  be  kept  in  view  in  all  attempts  at 
industrial  organisation,  or  in  any  movement  which 
has  that  for  its  ultimate  object,  is  gradually  to  extin- 
guish them.  On  this  subject  Professor  Foxwell  has 
said  :  "  Uncertainty  of  employment  is  the  root  evil  of 
the  present  industrial  regime.  .  .  .     The  condition  of 


94  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

a  large  mass  of  the  people  is  so  precarious,  and  the 
state  of  industry  so  unsettled,  that  social  reforms, 
which  must  be  gradual  and  slow,  have  no  time  to 
mature ;  and  the  situation  alters  before  the  proper 
remedies  can  be  considered  and  applied.  It  is  on 
account  of  its  indirect  consequences,  then,  even  more 
than  as  an  immediate  cause  of  evil,  that  uncertainty 
of  employment  seems  to  me  to  demand  the  first  place 
in  the  attention  of  the  friends  of  social  progress  and 
of  the  claims  of  labour."1 

While  all  recognise  the  great  advantages  of  the  in- 
dustrial development  to  the  upper  and  middle  classes, 
there  is  a  growing  impression  among  the  wage-earners 
that,  notwithstanding  the  improvements  in  many  di- 
rections which  have  taken  place  in  their  conditions, 
especially  during  the  past  fifty  years,  they  have  not 
obtained  a  fair  share  of  the  increase  in  the  value  of 
their  work.  The  wide  extremes  of  riches  and  poverty 
are  attracting  the  attention  of  many  thoughtful  men 
and  women,  and  it  is  felt  that  the  more  equable  dis- 
tribution of  wealth  rather  than  its  increased  produc- 
tion is  the  most  pressing  problem  of  the  day.  Almost 
all  the  schemes  of  social  reformers  and  politicians  of 
all  parties  have  this  in  some  shape  or  form  for  their 
ultimate  object. 

The  most  difficult  problems  which  now  confront  us 
are,  indeed,  those  connected  with  the  demands  of 
labour,  and  a  survey  of  our  great  cities,  our  towns  and 
rural  districts,  shows  most  distinctly  that  there  is 
something  radically  wrong  in  our  present  system.  In 
many  parts  of  our  cities  and  towns  we  find  all  the 

1  The  Claims  of  Labour,  p.  186. 


INDIVIDUAL   INDUSTRY 


95 


evils  caused  by  overcrowding  and  bad  sanitation,  and 
the  degenerate  state  of  health  and  morals  arising  from 
these  and  from  poverty.  Many  persons  of  all  ages 
can  find  no  employment,  and  many  are  unfit  for  em- 
ployment. Unhealthy,  untrained,  undisciplined,  there 
seems  to  be  no  place  for  them  on  this  earth. 

In  the  rural  districts  very  often  conditions  are  not 
much  better.  Long  ago  Lord  Beaconsfield,  who  was 
a  very  keen  observer,  and,  at  that  time  at  least,  a  very 
sympathetic  student  of  social  problems,  drew  in  Sybil 
a  picture  of  the  condition  of  the  rural  population. 
"  Remember,"  he  said,  "  what  they  once  were,  the 
freest,  the  bravest,  the  best  natured,  and  the  best  look- 
ing, the  happiest  and  the  most  religious  race  upon 
the  surface  of  this  globe.  And  think  of  them  now, 
with  all  their  crimes  and  their  slavish  sufferings  ;  their 
soured  spirits  and  their  stunted  forms ;  their  lives 
without  enjoyment  and  their  deaths  without  hope." 

If  we  examined  the  sweating  and  the  pauperism 
which  are  too  common,  and  the  circumstances  under 
which  large  numbers  of  the  population  are  born  and 
brought  up,  we  would  have  good  reason  for  doubting 
the  stability  of  our  national  fabric.  Apart  altogether 
from  poverty,  the  conditions  of  many  of  our  modern 
industries  and  of  trade  and  commerce  are  generating 
a  state  of  mental  and  physical  health  which  makes 
rational  conduct  practically  impossible.  No  doubt 
the  death-rate  over  the  country  has  very  much  dimin- 
ished owing  to  the  advance  of  medical  skill,  but  the 
infant  mortality  is  still  very  high.  In  some  parts  of 
the  country  as  much  as  between  40  and  50  per  cent 
of  all  the  deaths  that  occur  are  those  of  children  under 
five  years  of  age,  a  state  of  matters  which  is  a  disgrace 


96  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

to  our  civilisation.  Do  our  social  reformers  and  leg- 
islators ever  consider  all  that  is  involved  in  this  state- 
ment, and  what  it  means  physically,  economically, 
and  morally  ? 

One  of  the  most  distressing  features  of  our  present 
organisation  is  the  position  occupied  by  women  and 
children  with  regard  to  labour.  One  of  the  chief 
social  dangers  of  the  age  is  the  effect  of  industrial 
work  upon  the  motherhood  of  the  race,  for  national 
welfare  is  impossible  unless  it  is  laid  on  a  firm  phys- 
ical foundation.  It  has  been  truly  said  that  a  great 
part  of  "the  secret  of  England's  industrial  greatness 
is  in  her  command  of  a  practically  unlimited  supply 
of  the  cheap  labour  of  her  women  and  her  girls. 
Their  lives  are  minted  out  for  money.  Like  the 
vision  of  the  king  who  saw  a  golden  and  silver  statue, 
the  feet  of  which  were  of  iron  and  clay,  so  does  this 
magnificent  industrial  prosperity  of  commercial  Eng- 
land, concerning  which  we  make  our  boast,  dazzle 
the  world  with  the  radiance  of  its  fabulous  wealth  ; 
but  if  we  look  below  and  seek  to  see  that  on  which 
the  costly  fabric  rests  —  behold!  its  foundations  are 
laid  in  the  sordid  misery  of  creeping  millions,  in  the 
darkness  of  unending  toil,  in  the  hopelessness  of 
unavailing  sorrow."  1 

A  study  of  the  results  of  our  individualistic  system 
of  industry  and  trade  on  education  and  religion  would 
be  most  interesting,  but  at  present  we  cannot  enter 
upon  it.  It  may  be  noted,  however,  that  education 
has  become  chiefly  a  means  of  sharpening  the  tools 
in  the  ever-increasing  competition  of  the  world,  and 

1  Lady  Dilke,  Fortnightly  Review,  October  1893,  p.  507. 


iv  INDIVIDUAL   INDUSTRY  Q7 

religion  to  a  large  extent  simply  a  passport  of  respec- 
tability or  a  sedative  for  uneasy  consciences.  Even 
a  superficial  survey  of  the  history  of  nations  shows 
us  that  the  state  of  morality  among  a  people  has 
depended  to  a  very  large  extent  upon  their  economic 
and  social  conditions.  The  pirates  of  the  Middle 
Ages  founded  masses  and  charitable  institutions  with 
the  one  hand,  and  robbed  and  sacked  remorselessly 
with  the  other.  "  God's  friend  and  all  the  world's 
enemy "  was  their  audacious  motto,  and  it  is  one 
which  at  the  present  day  might  be  adopted  by  many 
who  have  the  reputation  of  being  good  Christians, 
and  who  are  chief  supporters  of  the  churches  and 
of  the  various  philanthropic  institutions,  which  have 
come  to  be  looked  upon  as  necessary  parts  of  our 
existing  civilisation. 

Probably  the  majority  of  philosophers  would  say 
that  virtue,  not  happiness,  should  be  the  object  of 
life,  and  that  the  state  of  any  society  should  be 
measured  by  the  amount  of  the  former  which  is  found 
among  its  members,  not  of  the  latter.  We  need  not 
discuss  the  philosophical  aspect  of  the  subject  at 
present,  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  all  desire 
happiness,  and  moreover,  that  many  believe  that  if 
virtue  abounded,  happiness  would  be  much  more 
common  than  it  is. 

If  we  try  to  ascertain  whether  the  amount  of 
human  happiness  has  been  increased  by  the  develop- 
ment of  machinery  and  of  modern  industry,  a  little 
observation  leads  us  very  much  to  doubt  if  this  is 
the  case.  The  machines  seem  to  have  become  our 
masters,  and  most  men  and  a  great  many  women  are 
the  slaves  of  trade  and  industry.     Even  the  richest 


98  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap.iv 

and  most  powerful  confess  that  they  lead  miserable 
lives  on  account  of  the  worry  and  vexation  to  which 
they  are  subjected,  while  the  great  body  of  the  middle 
classes  is  engaged  in  a  struggle  which  leaves  them 
little  time  or  inclination  for  intellectual  enjoyment  or 
healthful  recreation.  On  the  other  hand,  the  major- 
ity of  the  working-classes  feel  that  their  economic 
position  is  so  unstable  and  their  future  so  uncertain, 
that -they  have  little  real  enjoyment  of  life. 

The  source  of  all  real  happiness  is  unselfish  devotion 
to  the  welfare  of  the  community,  but  it  is  idle  preach- 
ing the  duty  of  unselfishness  to  those  whose  whole 
efforts  are  required  to  keep  their  bodies  and  souls  to- 
gether. It  is  therefore  evident,  both  from  an  economic 
and  a  moral  point  of  view,  that  the  individualist  system 
of  industry,  by  itself,  is  not  sufficient  to  bring  about  a 
stable  social  structure ;  and  we  shall  now  proceed  to 
consider  those  agencies  that  are  likely  to  modify  it  in 
the  direction  of  the  ideals  which  we  have  indicated. 


CHAPTER   V 

TRADE    UNIONS 

The  sudden  change  in  industrial  arrangements 
brought  about  by  the  development  of  machinery, 
combined  with  the  greed  of  employers,  led 
to  very  great  hardships  among  the  workers  Introduc- 
and  to  social  conditions  which  were  a  dis- 
grace to  our  civilisation.  Public  opinion  demanded 
some  form  of  protective  law,  and  this  took  the  shape 
of  a  long  series  of  enactments  known  as  the  Factory 
Acts.  They  started  the  debate,  which  may  be  said 
to  be  still  in  progress,  as  to  the  extent  to  which  it  is 
wise  in  the  Legislature  to  interfere  for  moral  ends 
with  the  freedom  of  individual  action.  Before  these 
acts  were  passed,  the  workers,  by  means  of  combina- 
tions, had  taken  steps  for  their  own  protection,  but 
under  existing  restrictions  their  efforts  were  not  very 
effective.  The  discussion  which  took  place  regarding 
the  Factory  Acts  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  forma- 
tion of  these  combinations. 

Trade  unionism  is  the  assertion  of  the  principle 
that  men  have  common  interests,  not  only  in  their 
particular  trades,  but  also  through  every  department 
of  life,  and  that  it  is  their  duty  to  help  each  other  in 
difficulty,  and  to  defend  each  other  when  in  danger, 
in  short,  that  individual  advancement  is  only  good 
when  it  does  not  hurt  the  general  welfare.     As  has 

99 


IOO  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

been  pointed  out  in  a  recent  very  able  book,1  "  the 
effects  of  trade  unionism  upon  the  conditions  of 
labour  and  upon  industrial  organisation  and  progress 
are  so  governed  by  the  infinite  technical  variety  of 
our  productive  processes,  that  they  vary  from  in- 
dustry to  industry,  and  even  from  trade  to  trade,  and 
the  economic  moral  varies  with  them."  Our  space, 
therefore,  will  not  allow  us  to  consider  all  the  func- 
tions of  trade  unions  or  their  economic  results.  All 
we  can  do  is  to  indicate  some  of  their  most  important 
features  and  the  place  they  hold  in  industrial  organi- 
sation. It  has  been  truly  said  that  the  trade  union 
is  the  public  school  of  the  working  man,  and  those 
who  are  studying  social  and  industrial  problems,  if 
they  are  to  be  of  any  service,  must  in  the  first  place 
know  what  the  working  man  has  already  done  to  help 
himself. 

A  brief  outline  of  the  history  of  trade  unions  will 
form  a  useful  introduction  to  the  subject.  In  my 
Develop-  opinion  the  theory  laid  down  by  Brentano, 
Trade°f  tnat  tne  trade  unions  are  the  direct  and  lin- 
Unions.  eai  descendants  of  the  old  craft  guilds,  is 
not  one  which  can  be  upheld  by  facts.  Trade  unions 
are  associations  of  wage-earners  for  the  purpose  of 
maintaining  and  improving  the  conditions  of  their 
own  employment,  and  they  have  existed  in  England 
in  a  more  or  less  rudimentary  form  for  nearly  two 
centuries.  This  is  a  wholly  different  kind  of  associa- 
tion from  that  of  the  old  guilds,  and  there  is  no  evi- 
dence of  any  durable  and  independent  combinations 
of  wage-earners  against  their  employers  during  the 
Middle  Ages. 

1  Sydney  and  Beatrice  Webb,  The  History  of  Trade  Unionism, 
Preface. 


v  TRADE   UNIONS  IOi 

Laws,  however,  were  passed  at  an  earlier  date,  pro- 
hibiting the  combination  of  workmen  or  of  employers 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  an  undue  advantage.  A 
statute  of  the  time  of  Edward  I.  stamped  as  con- 
spirators "all  who  do  confeder  or  bind  themselves 
by  oath,  covenant,  or  other  alliance,  as  relates  or 
extends  to  combinations  or  conspiracies  of  workmen 
or  other  persons,  to  obtain  an  advance  of,  or  fix  the 
rate  of  wages,  or  to  lessen  or  alter  the  hours  or  dura- 
tion of  the  time  of  working,  or  to  decrease  the  quan- 
tity of  work,  or  to  control  or  regulate  the  mode  of 
carrying  on  any  manufacture,  trade,  or  business,  or 
the  management  thereof ;  or  to  combinations  or  con- 
spiracies of  masters,  manufacturers,  or  other  persons, 
to  lower  or  fix  the  rate  of  wages,  or  to  alter  or  in- 
crease the  hours  or  duration  of  the  time  of  working, 
or  to  increase  the  quantity  of  work,  or  to  regulate  or 
control  the  mode  of  carrying  on  any  manufacture, 
trade,  or  business,  or  the  management  thereof,  or  to 
oblige  workmen  to  enter  into  work." 

During  succeeding  years  a  considerable  number 
of  other  enactments  were  passed,  showing  that  legis- 
lation had  not  been  able  to  effect  its  purpose,  and 
that  combinations  of  some  kind  or  other,  although 
with  no  settled  objects,  were  attempted  both  by 
workers  and  employers.  Trade  unions  had  not  their 
origin  in  the  factory  system,  nor  in  the  introduction 
of  steam-engines,  but  existed  at  least  half  a  century 
earlier  than  these.  They  were,  in  fact,  the  results 
of  the  reaction  against  the  unlimited  application  of 
freedom,  consequent  upon  the  break-up  of  the  mediae- 
val doctrines  of  State  regulation  and  the  practice  of 
the  guilds.     At  the  same  time,  the  social  and  eco- 


102  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

nomic  conditions  brought  about  by  the  industrial 
revolution  towards  the  end  of  last  century  led  to  their 
development  as  a  means  of  self-protection  on  the  part 
of  the  workers.  Something  was  done  to  improve  the 
laws  referring  to  Friendly  Societies,  and  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  century  the  first  Factory  Act  was 
passed.  It  was,  however,  very  imperfect  and  had 
little  effect. 

Gradually  the  public  conscience  was  roused,  and 
after  a  series  of  inquiries  by  Government,  from  1817 
till  1824,  the  Combination  Laws  were  repealed  in 
1825.  The  liberty  which  was  given,  however,  was  of 
a  very  limited  nature,  for  the  law  still  forbade  all 
workmen's  associations,  except  those  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  such  amount  of  wages  as  would  be  fair 
remuneration.  The  workers  were  at  liberty  to  meet 
and  take  steps  to  promote  their  own  welfare  so  long 
as  they  did  not  resort  to  violence,  threats,  intimida- 
tion, or  force ;  and  this  was  a  great  step  in  advance, 
which  they  were  not  slow  to  utilise.  The  laws  of 
master  and  servant,  however,  still  remained,  and  were 
sometimes  enforced  with  severity. 

The  progress  made  by  trade  unions  during  the  first 
half  of  the  century  was  comparatively  small ;  but  dur- 
ing the  latter  half,  and  especially  during  the  past 
twenty-five  years,  a  great  change  has  taken  place  in 
the  spirit  of  labour  legislation,  and  many  of  the  old 
laws  have  been  repealed.  It  was  not  until  1875,  after 
persistent  efforts  of  nearly  one  hundred  years,  that 
the  last  of  the  old  labour  laws,  together  with  the 
Master  and  Servant  Acts,  were  wholly  repealed.  At 
the  same  time  the  Conspiracy  Laws,  in  so  far  as  they 
applied  to  labour  disputes,  were  abolished.     In  1871 


TRADE  UNIONS 


103 


the  Trade  Union  Act  was  passed,  and  trade  unions 
were  accorded  the  protection  of  the  law,  and  since 
that  time  several  amending  acts  have  been  passed. 
The  workers  have  now  liberty  to  act  either  individu- 
ally or  collectively  for  their  mutual  advantage,  limited 
only  by  the  restrictions  of  the  common  law  ;  and  they 
have  taken  advantage  of  this  liberty  to  make  demands 
on  their  employers,  many  of  which  have  been  granted, 
with  the  result  that  the  economic  and  social  positions 
of  the  members  of  the  trade  unions,  at  least,  have 
been  greatly  improved. 

It  ought  to  be  noted  that  all  professions  are  more 
or  less  trade  unions  ;  and  although  the  entrance  to 
most  of  them  is  by  an  examination,  there  cannot  be 
the  slightest  doubt  that  what  goes  by  the  name  of 
professional  etiquette  is  very  often  as  oppressive  to 
some  of  the  members  as  any  of  the  regulations  of 
trade  unions.  The  common  aim  is  to  settle  the 
general  conditions  of  work  and  the  remuneration  to 
be  paid  for  it. 

A  little  more  charity  would  be  shown  in  discussing 
the  proceedings  of  trade  unions  if  it  were  only  remem- 
bered, as  Professor  Jevons  pointed  out,  that  "their 
economic  errors  are  after  all  not  worse  than  those 
which  pervaded  the  commercial,  if  not  the  governing 
classes,  a  generation  or  two  ago.  One  result  which 
clearly  emerges  from  a  calm  review  is  that  all  classes 
of  society  are  trade  unionists  at  heart,  and  differ 
chiefly  in  the  boldness,  ability,  and  secrecy  with 
which  they  push  their  respective  interests." 1 

The  chief  object  of  trade  unions  is  to  obtain  for 

1  The  State  in  Relation  to  Labour,  Preface. 


104  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

their  members  a  general  improvement  in  their  eco- 
nomic conditions.  They  try  to  attain  this  by  endeav- 
TheOb-  ouring  to  raise  their  wages  and  reduce 
JTradef  their  working  hours,  by  obtaining  improved 
Unions.  sanitary  conditions  and  greater  security  for 
life  and  limb,  and  by  defending  individual  workers 
from  arbitrary  and  unjust  treatment  by  their  em- 
ployers. The  influence  and  funds  of  the  unions  are 
used  for  the  attainment  of  these  ends,  and  for  the 
support  of  those  members  who  cannot  obtain  employ- 
ment except  on  terms  incompatible  with  the  general 
policy  of  the  unions. 

In  addition  to  their  chief  object,  the  unions  fre- 
quently spend  part  of  their  funds  on  provident  bene- 
fits, although  some,  more  especially  those  of  recent 
origin  and  connected  with  the  unskilled  trades,  are 
intended  to  act  simply  as  fighting  machines,  and 
therefore  do  not  encumber  themselves  with  any  ar- 
rangements which  would  render  them  less  efficient 
for  this  purpose  or  would  tend  to  render  them  over- 
cautious. The  best  established  unions,  however,  en- 
deavour to  make  their  members  independent  of  private 
charity  by  providing  for  all  the  common  misfortunes 
of  life.  They  give  sick,  accident,  superannuation  and 
funeral  benefits,  as  well  as  out-of-work  pay  for  those 
who,  through  no  fault  of  their  own,  cannot  find  em- 
ployment ;  all  this,  of  course,  tends  to  improve  the 
social  and  economic  conditions  of  the  workers. 

In  recent  years,  moreover,  there  has  been  a  new 
development  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  the 
"  New  Unionism,"  of  which  the  chief  characteristics 
are  a  marked  tendency  towards  collectivism  in  some 
shape  or  other,  and  the  wish  to  use  the  unions  strictly 


v  TRADE  UNIONS  I05 

as  fighting  machines  unencumbered  with  friendly  bene- 
fits. It  had  its  origin  in  the  great  strikes  of  dock, 
gas  and  other  unskilled  workers  in  1889-90,  and  its 
leaders  "sought  to  bring  into  the  ranks  of  existing 
organisations — the  Trade  Union,  the  Municipality  or 
the  State — great  masses  of  unorganised  workers  who 
had  hitherto  been  either  absolutely  outside  the  pale, 
or  inert  elements  within  it.  They  aimed,  not  at 
superseding  existing  social  structures,  but  at  captur- 
ing them  all  in  the  interests  of  the  wage-earners. 
Above  all,  they  sought  to  teach  the  great  masses  of 
undisciplined  workers  how  to  apply  their  newly- 
acquired  political  power  so  as  to  obtain,  in  a  perfectly 
constitutional  manner,  whatever  changes  in  legisla- 
tion or  administration  they  desired."1  Their  relations 
to  sick  and  other  benefits  are  explained  by  John 
Burns2  in  the  following  sentences: — "Their  reckless 
assumption  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  that  only 
the  State  or  whole  community  can  discharge,  in  the 
nature  of  sick  and  superannuation  benefits,  at  the 
instance  of  the  middle  class,  is  crushing  out  the  larger 
unions  by  taxing  their  members  to  an  unbearable 
extent.  This  so  cripples  them  that  the  fear  of  being 
unable  to  discharge  their  friendly  society  liabilities 
often  makes  them  submit  to  encroachments  by  the 
masters  without  protest.  The  result  of  this  is  that 
all  of  them  have  ceased  to  be  unions  for  maintaining 
the  rights  of  labour,  and  have  degenerated  into  mere 
middle  and  upper  class  rate-reducing  institutions." 

In  short,  the  New   Unionism  is   socialistic  in  its 
tendencies,  while  the  Old  is  individualistic  or  at  least 

1  S.  and  B.  Webb,  The  History  of  Trade  Unionism,  p.  404. 

2  Article  in  Justice,  3rd  September  1887. 


I06  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

sectional.  It  is  impossible  as  yet  to  determine  to 
what  extent  and  in  what  way  trade  unionism  has 
been  permanently  affected  by  the  new  development, 
but  in  this  as  in  other  labour  movements  it  will  prob- 
ably be  found  that  both  tendencies  are  necessary  for 
the  complete  solution  of  the  problems  of  labour. 
Especially  is  it  true  that  "the  generous  aid  from  trade 
to  trade,  the  pathetic  attempts  to  form  general  unions, 
the  constant  aspirations  after  universal  federation,  all 
testify  to  the  reality  and  force  of  this  instructive 
solidarity.  The  collectivist  faith  of  the  'New  Union- 
ism '  is  only  another  manifestation  of  the  same  deep- 
rooted  belief  in  the  essential  brotherhood  of  labour."  1 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  wisely-guided  trade 
unions  are  powerful  agencies  for  good.  They  are 
not  needed  by  men  of  great  abilities  or  high 

Results  ot 

Trade  economic  value,  but  to  average  men  they 
are  absolutely  necessary  for  their  protection 
from  the  unrestrained  selfishness  of  individualist  cap- 
italists, or  combinations  of  capitalists.  This  they  do 
by  removing  disadvantages  under  which  the  great 
mass  of  working  men  suffer  if  they  attempt  to  act 
individually  for  the  purpose  of  improving  their  eco- 
nomic conditions,  for  it  is  altogether  a  false  assump- 
tion that  labour  is  a  commodity  which  can  be  bought 
and  sold  like  other  commodities.  The  welfare,  nay, 
even  the  existence  of  the  individual,  may  be  involved 
in  the  price  of  the  commodity.  Capitalists  and 
employers  will  generally  endeavour  to  make  their 
purchases  of  it  as  cheaply  as  they  can,  and  the  price 
which    is   paid   for  it   in   any  industry  will  depend 

1  S.  and  B.  Webb,   The  History  of  Trade  Unionism,  p.  477. 


TRADE   UNIONS 


107 


largely  on  the  power  of  combination  possessed  by 
the  workers,  for  individually  they  are  at  a  great 
disadvantage  compared  with  the  employers.  Starva- 
tion of  themselves  and  their  families  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  offer  of  a  low  wage  on  the  other,  will 
always  lead  to  the  acceptance  of  the  latter.  Thus 
the  process  of  degradation  and  deterioration  goes  on, 
until  at  last  they  are  displaced  by  others  from  among 
the  crowd  which  is  always  waiting  for  employment. 
If  both  employers  and  workers  have  effective  com- 
binations, there  may  be  a  considerable  range  of  prices, 
at  any  of  which  the  equation  of  supply  and  demand 
may  be  satisfied,  and  the  actual  point  within  these 
limits  at  which  the  rate  may  be  fixed  will  depend  on 
the  relative  resources  of  the  opposing  parties.  Pro- 
fessor Marshall  has  remarked  that  "little  but  mis- 
chief, indeed,  comes  from  a  weak  union,  always  ready 
to  interfere,  but  seldom  able  to  secure  the  faithful 
carrying  out  of  an  agreement  to  which  its  own  officers 
have  been  a  party.  But  a  strong  union,  guided  by 
able  and  far-seeing  men  who  have  a  grave  sense  of 
responsibility,  is  found  to  enable  a  few  minutes  quiet 
conversation  to  settle  innumerable  petty  disputes  that 
in  old  times  would  have  caused  much  delay  and 
worry  and  loss  of  mutual  good  feeling.  And,  when 
the  time  comes  for  great  changes  in  wages  either 
way,  the  case  is  argued  out  by  those  who  know 
exactly  what  are  the  real  points  of  difficulty ;  and 
who,  though  there  must  be  in  the  background  an 
appeal  to  force,  will  yet  have  recourse  to  industrial 
war  only  as  a  last  resource."  1 

1  Economics  of  Industry  (1892),  p.  397. 


108  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

The  general  policy  of  trade  unions  in  their  endeav- 
ours to  cause  an  increase  of  wages  is  in  some  way 
to  limit  artificially  the  supply  of  labour.  Their  efforts 
in  such  a  direction  will  have  considerable  effect  if 
the  commodity  their  trade  helps  to  produce  cannot 
be  furnished  in  an  alternative  manner,  or  by  means 
of  mechanical  appliances  ;  if  they  have  the  control  of 
the  supply  of  labour  in  their  trade  and  district,  which 
they  can  have  only  when  those  connected  with  the 
industry  are  well  organised.  If  the  commodity  be 
one  of  the  necessaries  of  life  for  which  the  demand 
is  nearly  constant,  whatever  the  conditions  of  trade, 
and  especially  if  the  other  classes  of  workers  and 
employers  be  not  in  a  position  to  secure  an  increased 
result  for  their  labour  and  capital,  the  success  of  any 
strong  combination  of  workers  is  certain  to  be  con- 
siderable. Nevertheless  it  is  evident  that,  without 
increased  production  or  greater  economy  and  effi- 
ciency, a  general  rise  of  wages  or  return  to  all  con- 
cerned is  impossible.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  those 
occupations  in  which  wages  have  risen  most  in  Eng- 
land happen  to  be  those  in  which  there  are  no  unions, 
and  the  instances  quoted  are  generally  domestic  ser- 
vice and  unskilled  occupations  requiring  great  physi- 
cal strength.  These  instances,  however,  prove  nothing 
against  the  efficacy  of  trade  unions,  for  in  the  first  the 
social,  and  in  the  second  the  physical  conditions  are 
generally  sufficient  to  explain  why  a  preference  is 
given  to  other  employments. 

Professor  Marshall  has  stated  the  arguments  for  and 
against  trade  unions  in  a  very  fair  manner.  While 
he  is  of  opinion  that  the  power  of  unions  to  raise 
wages  by  direct  means  is  never  great,  and  is  never 


TRADE   UNIONS 


IO9 


sufficient  to  contend  successfully  with  the  general 
economic  forces  of  the  age,  when  their  drift  is  against 
a  rise  of  wages,  still  he  believes  it  is  sufficient  materi- 
ally to  benefit  the  worker,  when  it  is  so  directed  as  to 
co-operate  with  and  to  strengthen  those  general  agen- 
cies which  are  tending  to  improve  his  position  morally 
and  economically.  It  will  only,  he  says,  be  so  directed 
if  the  following  conditions  are  satisfied.  "Firstly, 
unions  must  aim  at  making  business  easy  and  certain; 
and  this  is  already  done  by  formal  and  informal  Boards 
of  Conciliation  in  some  trades,  especially  such  as  pro- 
duce largely  for  foreign  markets.  Secondly,  they  must 
aim  at  raising  the  standard  of  life  among  the  workers 
of  the  present  and  the  coming  generation  by  fostering 
habits  of  sobriety,  honesty,  independence  and  self- 
respect  :  this  is  done  in  different  degrees  by  all 
unions  ;  and  whatever  influence  they  exert  in  this 
direction  is  cumulative.  Thirdly,  they  must  aid  as 
many  as  possible  of  the  rising  generation  to  acquire 
industrial  skill,  and  to  join  the  higher  paid  ranks  of 
labour:  this  calls  for  some  self-sacrifice,  and  is  incon- 
sistent with  any  attempt  to  raise  very  high  the  wages 
in  skilled  trades  by  making  the  entrance  to  them  arti- 
ficially difficult.  Fourthly,  they  must  strive  to  develop 
the  great  stores  of  business  power  and  inventive 
resource  that  lie  latent  among  the  working-classes, 
so  that,  production  being  economical  and  efficient, 
the  national  dividend  may  be  large;  and  that  busi- 
ness power  being  cheap,  and  the  share  going  as  earn- 
ings of  management  being  relatively  small,  that  which 
remains  for  wages  may  be  high.  The  training  which 
unionists  get  from  the  management  of  union  affairs, 
though  highly  beneficial  to  them  as  men  and  as  citi- 


IIO  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

zens,  is  yet  not  exactly  what  is  wanted  for  this  end. 
But  unions  might  do  much  towards  it  by  undertaking 
particular  contracts  and  even  general  business  on  their 
own  accounts ;  by  aiding  and  promoting  all  forms  of 
co-operative  enterprise,  and  especially  such  as  open 
the  greatest  number  of  opportunities  to  men  of  natu- 
ral business  ability  to  find  free  scope  for  their  con- 
structive and  originating  faculties.  Fifthly,  they  must 
be  always  specially  careful  to  avoid  action  by  which  one 
class  of  workers  inflicts  a  direct  injury  on  others.  Con- 
tests between  unions  contending  for  the  same  field 
of  employment — as,  for  instance,  between  unions  of 
shipwrights  and  carpenters,  or  plumbers  and  fitters  — 
attract  their  full  meed  of  attention ;  but  more  impor- 
tance really  attaches  to  the  injuries  which  one  trade 
inflicts  on  others  by  stinting  the  output  of  the  raw 
material  which  they  have  to  use,  or  by  throwing  them 
out  of  work  through  a  strike  in  which  they  have  no 
concern."  1 

The  most  important  testimony  to  the  economic 
value  of  trade  unions  is  that  which  is  given  by  em- 
ployers of  labour,  who  now  for  the  most  part  recog- 
nise their  great  utility.  For  instance,  Mr.  William 
Mather,  M.P.,  writes:  —  "As  an  employer  in  one  of 
the  great  staple  trades,  I  have  always  held  that  we 
owe  much  of  our  prosperity  in  the  manufacturing 
industries  to  trade  combinations.  They  have  not 
only  formed  sources  of  friendly  and  material  help  of 
a  substantial  kind  to  vast  numbers  of  the  working- 
classes  during  hard  times,  bodily  sickness,  and  old 
age,  but  they  have  been  great  educational  agencies 

1  Economics  of  Industry  (1892),  p.  458. 


v  TRADE   UNIONS  III 

on  questions  of  trade  and  commerce.  By  their  rules 
and  regulations,  which  are  simultaneously  observed 
by  masses  of  skilled  men,  the  employers  have  been 
able  to  reckon  with  the  forces  of  labour  from  time  to 
time  on  sure  and  certain  grounds.  All  employers 
have  been  treated  alike :  an  equitable  distribution  of 
labour  has  been  secured  throughout  all  the  staple 
industries  at  uniform  rates  of  wages  and  hours,  as 
between  employers  in  defined  districts.  This  ele- 
ment in  manufacturing  industries  is  of  vital  impor- 
tance to  employers.  A  spasmodic  demand  for  labour 
at  any  price  in  times  of  'roaring  trade,'  and  a  sudden 
fall  to  the  lowest  wage  men  would  work  for  rather 
than  starve  in  bad  times  —  which  non-unionists  would 
ever  have  been  subject  to — could  only  have  demoral- 
ised industry  and  created  an  unhealthy  competition 
among  employers.  The  cupidity  and  selfishness  of 
some  would  have  made  it  difficult  even  for  just  and 
generous  employers  to  do  right.  Trade  unionism 
has  happily  rendered  all  this  impossible.  .  .  .  These 
remarkable  results  of  combination,  however,  do  not 
exhaust  the  benefits  that  may  be  ascribed  to  trade 
unions.  They  have  brought  a  double  blessing  in 
their  course  —  stormy,  unwise  and  injurious  as  at 
times  have  been  the  struggles  in  which  they  have 
engaged.  In  the  main  they  have  acted  so  wisely  and 
so  well,  that  not  only  have  the  working-classes  of  the 
country  as  a  whole,  unionists  and  non-unionists  alike, 
obtained  much  higher  wages,  shorter  hours,  better 
protection  from  injury,  and  healthier  workshops  and 
factories,  but  the  employers  in  every  industry  suited 
to  the  country  have  multiplied,  and  in  the  aggregate 
have  immensely  prospered,  notwithstanding  the  ever- 


112  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

increasing  development  of  like  industries  in  those 
countries  which  formerly  depended  on  Great  Britain 
for  their  supplies.  The  excellence  of  our  manufact- 
ures has  also  been  immensely  enhanced  during  the 
years  when  wages  were  going  up  and  hours  were  be- 
ing shortened  through  the  influence  of  trade  unions. 
Moreover,  the  labour  cost  of  productions  has  dimin- 
ished in  proportion  to  the  total  cost  of  manufacture."1 

The  economic  effects  of  trade  unions  cannot  be 
measured  by  the  extent  and  number  of  their  apparent 
victories,  for  although  they  may  have  been  defeated, 
the  fight  may  have  been  justified  by  the  results.  A 
stubborn  fight  over  a  small  reduction  may  be  lost  to 
the  trade  unionists,  but  still  it  may  have  prevented  a 
very  much  larger  reduction,  for  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  a  well-organised  combination  among  the  workers 
makes  the  employers  very  careful  in  their  action,  and 
at  least  tends  to  cause  the  reduction  to  be  gradual, 
and  very  often  makes  it  smaller  in  amount  than  it 
would  otherwise  have  been. 

While  we  admit  that  trade  unions  and  labour  or- 
ganisations generally  are  beneficial  to  those  directly 
connected  with  them,  we  must  not  overlook  their 
effects  on  those  outside  of  them.  The  workmen  who 
have  been  displaced  by  machinery,  and  whose  skill  has 
been  rendered  very  nearly  valueless,  and  the  low- 
skilled  and  the  unskilled  labourers,  find  their  positions 
more  precarious  in  proportion  to  the  increased  regu- 
larity of  the  work  which  the  trade  unionists  are  able 
to  secure.  The  effect  of  all  organisation,  in  short,  is, 
with  the  present  system  of  industry  and  trade,  to  in- 

1  Daily  News,  7th  May  1892.  See  also  Contemporary  Review* 
November  1892. 


TRADE  UNIONS 


113 


crease  the  number  of  the  residuum.  "  Organise  or 
starve,"  is  the  law  of  modern  labour  movements,  and 
competition  makes  the  elimination  of  the  unfit  a  nec- 
essary means  of  preserving  the  existence  of  any  in- 
dustry. Even  the  rule  stipulating  for  a  minimum 
rate  of  wages  has  the  same  effect,  for  it  prevents  all 
but  the  very  best  men  and  women  from  being  em- 
ployed. The  tendency  is,  when  workers  get  beyond 
their  prime,  to  displace  them,  and  cause  them  to  swell 
the  ranks  of  the  unemployed. 

This  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  most  difficult 
part  of  the  problem — that  is,  How  to  deal  with  the 
"  unfit  "  in  the  industrial  race  ?  If  humanity  insists 
on  a  provision  being  made  for  them,  does  it  also  rec- 
ognise the  consequences  of  its  action  ?  The  solution 
of  this  problem  lies  more  in  the  field  of  social  thera- 
peutics than  of  economics,  at  least  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  this  term,  and  this  subject  is  receiving  much 
attention  at  the  present  time. 

Although  in  recent  years  more  liberal  views  have 
begun  to  prevail,  the  action  of  trade  unions  is  in- 
tended primarily  to  benefit  only  their  own  members, 
or  at  most  those  more  or  less  directly  connected  with 
them,  and  little  regard  is  paid  either  to  the  conven- 
ience or  welfare  of  the  community.  Care  must  there- 
fore be  taken  that  no  body  of  workers,  who  from 
exceptional  circumstances  find  themselves  in  the 
possession  of  the  power  to  do  the  public  harm  if  all 
their  demands  are  not  conceded,  be  allowed  to  act 
selfishly  with  impunity.  Even  those  of  a  socialistic 
turn  of  mind  deny  the  right  of  any  section  of  the 
workers  to  take  advantage  of  their  position  to  unduly 
enrich  themselves  at  the  expense  of  the  community, 


114  THE  EVOLUTION  OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

for  no  true  democracy  can  permit  any  of  its  parts  to 
dictate  terms  to  all  the  others.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  the  rapid  development  of  labour  combinations, 
both  in  this  and  other  countries,  may  possibly  be 
accompanied  by  grave  social  dangers  unless  the  mem- 
bers are  imbued  with  a  healthy,  unselfish  spirit  which 
will  enable  them,  while  conserving  their  own  inter- 
ests, to  remember  that  they  are  members  of  a  com- 
munity which  has  a  right  to  expect  that  they  will  not 
enrich  themselves  at  its  expense,  or  make  any  arrange- 
ments which  are  to  its  disadvantage.  To  guard 
against  this  possibility,  we  ought  to  make  a  training 
in  the  life  and  duties  of  Citizenship  an  essential  part 
of  our  national  system  of  education. 

The  principles  of  trade  unionism  necessarily  in- 
volve in  practice  a  union  or  association  of  employers 
Combina-  as  we^  as  °^  employed.  Although  the  power 
tions  of        0f  the  trade  unions  has  on  the  whole  been 

Employers. 

exercised  with  prudence,  and  the  workers 
have  met  their  employers  in  a  conciliatory  and  rea- 
sonable spirit,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  some 
cases  unreasonable  demands  have  been  made.  In 
order  to  resist  these  effectively,  and  also  to  take  com- 
mon action  in  any  emergency  which  might  arise,  the 
employers  have  formed  combinations  among  them- 
selves. On  the  whole  this  movement  is  also  in  the 
right  direction,  for  when  both  sides  are  well-organised, 
it  is  found  that  a  settlement  is  a  comparatively  easy 
matter;  each  knows  the  strength  and  resources  of 
the  other,  and  this  prevents  unreasonable  demands 
from  being  made,  and  leads  to  an  adjustment  of 
the  differences. 

In  order  to  facilitate  such  a  settlement,  there  is  a 


v  TRADE   UNIONS  H5 

very  strong  movement  at  present  in  favour  of  the 
establishment  of  Boards  of  Conciliation  and 

....  .       r  Boards  of 

Arbitration,  composed  of  representatives  of  Condiia- 
the  parties  concerned,  to  which  all  disputes  Arbitra- 
.  would  be  referred,  and  which  would  thor-  tl0n' 
oughly  investigate  their  causes  and  suggest  what  is 
necessary  for  their  prevention  and  settlement.     Such 
Boards  would  thus  act  as  connecting  links  between 
the  employers  and  the  workers,  and  would  ultimately 
lead  to  a  form  of  industrial  co-operation  by  which  all 
the  problems  of  labour  would  be  solved. 

In  order  that  these  Boards  may  be  effective,  they 
must  be  backed  up  by  the  trade  unions  and  by  the 
combinations  of  employers,  so  that  their  decisions 
may  be  enforced  with  authority.  We  will  consider 
some  of  the  possibilities  of  these  Boards  in  a  future 
chapter. 

In  all  ages  the  dominant  class  in  a  country  has 
always    profoundly   affected    legislation    in   its   own 
favour.     Until  very  recent  times  the  gov-  Influence 
ernment  of   Britain  has  been  almost  exclu-  of  Trade 

Unions  on 

sively  administered  by  wealthy  landowners  Legisia- 
and  successful  traders,  who  did  little  to  im- 
prove the  condition  of  those  who  lived  by  labour. 
When  we  consider  that,  with  the  present  state  of  the 
suffrage,  if  the  workers  clearly  realised  the  extent  of 
their  own  strength,  and  recognised  that,  were  their 
power  properly  organised  and  combined,  it  would  be 
overwhelming,  their  demands  would  either  be  peace- 
fully granted  by  all  governments,  by  whatever  names 
they  might  call  themselves,  or  were  they  refused, 
they  could  be  extorted  by  force.  We  see  at  once 
how  they  might  shape  the  institutions  of  the  country 


Il6  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

to  suit  their  own  purposes.  Hence  the  necessity  for 
all  classes  uniting  in  a  common  effort  to  guide  legis- 
lation into  proper  channels,  and  thus  securing  that 
future  legal  enactments  shall  be  based  on  grounds  of 
equality  in  the  administration  of  the  civil  rights  of 
the  people. 

Professor  Jevons  pointed  to  the  annual  Trades  Con- 
gresses as  a  proof  of  the  advance  which  the  trade 
unionists  had  made  in  the  management  of  their  own 
interests.  He  said  that  "  instead  of  machine-breakers 
and  midnight  conspirators,  the  working  men  met  as  a 
parliament  to  discuss  the  means  and  ends  of  legisla- 
tion, with  dignity  and  propriety  at  least  equal  to 
that  recently  exhibited  at  St.  Stephen's.  No  longer 
entirely  devoted  to  the  pet  fallacies  and  interests  of 
their  order,  their  deliberations  touch  many  of  the 
most  important  social  questions  of  the  day.  The 
more  extensive  the  federations  of  trades  which  thus 
meet  in  peaceful  conference,  the  more  wide  and  gen- 
erous must  of  necessity  become  their  views."  '  It  is 
doubtful,  however,  whether  Professor  Jevons  would 
have  approved  of  the  advanced  views  expressed  at 
recent  Congresses,  or  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
majority  of  the  members  seemed  inclined  to  deal  with 
the  problems  relating  to  property.  It  is  evident  that 
the  socialists  have  captured  the  Congress,  a  fact 
which  should  be  seriously  considered  by  our  legis- 
lators. If  they  do  not  lead  the  way  to  an  improved 
industrial  organisation,  they  may  find  themselves 
driven  before  a  force  which  they  are  powerless  to 
resist. 

We  often  hear  criticism  of  the  methods  adopted  at 

1  The  State  in  Relation  to  Labour,  p.  126. 


TRADE  UNIONS 


117 


Trades  Congresses,  and  while  admitting  that  these 
might  be  considerably  improved,  and  that  they  would 
have  more  influence  if  they  confined  their  resolutions 
to  such  steps  as  were  possible  in  the  near  future,  it 
must  be  evident  that  the  results  of  such  Congresses 
are  not  to  be  measured  by  their  direct  practical  work, 
but  by  the  educational  effect  which  they  produce  on 
the  labour  movement  generally.  Even  as  they  are, 
they  exercise  very  considerable  direct  influence  on 
legislation,  and  many  of  the  enactments  relating  to 
labour  which  have  been  passed  in  recent  years  have 
been  due  to  their  initiative  and  to  the  pressure  which 
they  were  able  to  bring  to  bear  on  Parliament. 
Hence  the  necessity  for  a  more  general  diffusion  of 
economic  knowledge  and  of  acquaintance  with  civic 
duties. 


CHAPTER   VI 

POSITION    OF    WOMEN 

Henrik  Ibsen  in  one  of  his  works  remarks  that 
"  the  social  revolution  which  is  impending  in  Europe 
introduc-  1S  chiefly  concerned  with  the  future  of  the 
tory-  workers  and  the  women.  It  is  for  this  that 
I  hope  and  wait,  and  for  this  I  will  work  with  all  my 
powers."  No  one  who  has  studied  social  questions 
can  deny  the  correctness  of  this  opinion,  or  have 
failed  to  observe  that  the  position  of  most  women 
violates  both  the  physical  and  biological  conditions 
which  we  have  shown  to  be  necessary  for  healthy 
development.  Many  of  them  do  no  work  of  a  useful 
kind,  and  many  find  employment  under  improper  en- 
vironments, and  therefore  under  unhealthy  conditions. 
All  this  is  observed,  and  a  considerable  amount  of 
sympathy  expressed,  and  attempts  are  initiated  to 
right  the  wrongs  of  women,  but  very  often  without 
much  knowledge  of  the  history  and  complexity  of  the 
problems  involved,  or  of  the  delicacy  of  the  social 
machine  on  which  the  experiments  are  made.  The 
results  are  that  not  infrequently  the  evils  are  inten- 
sified instead  of  being  lessened.  The  relations  of 
women  to  the  problems  of  labour  require  very  careful 
attention  from  all  social  reformers,  and  especially  from 
women  themselves.  At  the  present  time  we  hear  a 
great  deal  about  the  emancipation  of  women,  but  if 

118 


POSITION   OF  WOMEN 


II9 


their  education  were  what  it  ought  to  be,  it  would 
emancipate  them  from  shallowness  and  ignorance,  and 
not  from  anything  that  is  truly  womanly.  In  my 
opinion  the  problems  connected  with  women  can  only 
be  solved  by  giving  them  greater  opportunities  for 
industrial  and  professional  careers,  and  equal  weight 
with  men  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  and  thus 
enabling  them  to  make  their  opinions  effective. 

Moreover,  while  it  is  very  desirable  that  women 
should  be  afforded  every  opportunity  of  obtaining  a 
good  education,  and  being  fitted  for  any  occupation 
for  which  they  are  physically  suited,  still  it  must  never 
be  forgotten  that  they  are  all  potential  mothers,  and 
that  a  considerable  proportion  of  them  will  become 
actual  mothers.  While  it  is  wrong  to  make  marriage 
the  chief  aim  of  a  woman's  life,  its  possibility  should 
never  be  overlooked,  and  nothing  should  be  done  which 
would  unfit  them  for  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of 
maternity.  It  is  much  more  important  that  the  race 
should  be  provided  with  good  and  capable  mothers 
than  that  cotton  cloth  should  be  turned  out  at  a  farth- 
ing a  yard  less  than  that  of  our  competitors — indeed, 
this  is  the  most  important  condition  for  the  highest 
economic  efficiency.  Professor  Drummond  has  not 
exaggerated  in  expressing  the  opinion  that  "  the  great 
factor  in  the  future  evolution  of  society  must,  by  the 
nature  of  things,  by  all  the  traditions  of  the  world's 
past,  and  by  all  the  facts  of  science,  be  the  ascent  of 
woman."  We  will  briefly  look  at  some  of  the  points 
which  ought  to  be  considered,  although  their  complete 
study  is  far  beyond  our  present  plan. 

The  first  question  to  be  asked  concerning  any  pro- 
posed course  of  training,  either  in  theory  or  practice, 


120  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

intended  for  girls  is,  Are  the  conditions  under  which 
the  work  is  to  be  done  of  such  a  nature  as  to  enable 
Women's  them  to  grow  up  healthy  women  ?  The  ob- 
Work.  j  ect  should  be  to  give  free  play  to  all  the  bodily 
organs,  so  far  as  is  consistent  with  the  grace,  beauty 
and  delicacy  so  essentially  characteristic  of  the  female 
type,  and  to  the  development  of  their  intellectual 
powers  in  those  directions  in  which  women  seem 
fitted  to  excel.  So  also  in  the  choice  of  an  occupation 
regard  must  always  be  had  to  the  physical  constitu- 
tion of  women,  and  to  a  certain  extent  to  the  effect 
of  that  occupation  on  their  moral  nature ;  for  all  will 
admit  that  there  are  certain  kinds  of  work  which  may 
be  necessary  under  present  social  conditions,  but 
which  women  should  not  be  expected  to  undertake, 
even  although  no  great  harm  would  result  to  them 
physically.  Not  only  should  heavy  and  disagreeable 
work  be  avoided,  but  also  all  such  occupations  as  are 
specially  trying  to  the  nervous  system,  for  women  are 
so  constituted  as  to  be  able  to  withstand  less  nervous 
strain  than  men.  "  To  insist  that  reforms  shall  under 
no  circumstances  take  account  of  the  differences  of 
sex,  is  to  fight  against  indisputable  facts  which  must, 
in  the  end,  prove  too  strong  for  us.  There  is  no 
danger  to  society  in  the  recognition  of  equal  human 
rights  for  both  sexes,  if  we  are  also  ready  to  recognise 
the  divergence  of  their  capabilities,  for  the  relations 
of  men  and  women  to  each  other,  their  functions  in 
the  family  and  the  state,  must  ultimately  be  deter- 
mined, however  ill  it  may  please  the  more  ardent 
female  reformers,  by  the  operation  of  natural  laws."  1 

1  Lady  Dilke,  Women's  Work,   Preface,  p.  vii. 


vi  POSITION   OF  WOMEN  121 

On  the  general  question  of  the  education  of  women 
Professor  Huxley  has  said :  "  So  far  from  imposing 
artificial  restrictions  upon  the  acquirement  of  knowl- 
edge by  women,  throw  every  facility  in  their  way. 
Let  our  Faustinas,  if  they  will,  toil  through  the  whole 

round  of 

Juristerei  und  Medizin 

Und  leider  !  auch  Philosophie. 

Let  us  have  'sweet  girl  graduates'  by  all  means. 
They  will  be  none  the  less  sweet  for  a  little  wisdom  ; 
and  the  'golden  hair'  will  not  curl  less  gracefully 
outside  the  head  by  reason  of  there  being  brains 
within.  Nay,  if  obvious  practical  difficulties  can  be 
overcome,  let  those  women  who  feel  inclined  to  do  so 
descend  into  the  gladiatorial  arena  of  life,  not  merely 
in  the  guise  of  retiarice  as  heretofore,  but  as  bold 
sicarice,  breasting  the  open  fray.  Let  them,  if  they 
so  please,  become  merchants,  barristers,  politicians. 
Let  them  have  a  fair  field,  but  let  them  understand, 
as  the  necessary  correlative,  that  they  are  to  have  no 
favour.  Let  Nature  alone  sit  high  above  the  lists, 
'  rain  influence  and  judge  the  prize.'  "  ' 

While  this  may  be  admitted,  still,  as  I  have  already 
indicated,  women  should  seek  to  develop  their  intelli- 
gence in  fields  where  their  emotional  nature  finds  its 
most  ample  gratification,  and  should  not  enter  into 
direct  competition  with  men  except  when  the  condi- 
tions are  equally  favourable  to  all.  They  should  rather 
seek  to  fully  utilise  both  the  bodily  and  mental  energy 
of  the  men,  so  as  to  allow  for  the  fuller  development 
of  their  own. 

1  Collected  Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  72. 


122  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

These  conditions  are  gradually  being  realised  from 
the  results  of  practical  experience,  and  during  the  past 
few  years  great  improvements  have  taken  place  in 
the  industrial  and  professional  position  of  women,  and 
many  occupations  are  now  open  to  them  which  were 
formerly  monopolised  by  men.  Even  the  feeling 
against  the  association  of  young  men  and  women  in 
the  work  of  the  College  or  University  is  gradually  dis- 
appearing, and  it  is  being  recognised  that  companion- 
ship of  the  sexes  for  purposes  of  study  is  far  less  likely 
to  lead  to  bad  results  than  intercourse  for  any  other 
end.  In  some  of  the  medical  subjects,  however,  it  is 
desirable  that  the  classes  should  be  separate,  although 
this  arises  rather  from  the  faults  of  the  men  than  of 
the  women.  To  the  pure  all  things  are  pure,  and  to 
the  true  student  of  science  the  demonstrations  of  the 
class-room  are  looked  upon  from  a  strictly  scientific 
point  of  view. 

The  professions  are  gradually  opening  their  doors 
to  women.  In  medicine,  for  example,  there  are  now 
complete  arrangements  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  for  their  education,  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber have  taken  advantage  of  them  and  are  now  prac- 
tising their  profession  with  success.  The  subsidiary, 
although  probably  not  less  important,  avocation  of 
nursing  is  being  greatly  developed,  and  many  women 
are  now  finding  in  it  a  useful  sphere  of  work.  While 
exceptional  women  will  find  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine congenial  occupation,  a  very  much  larger  number 
will  regard  nursing  as  a  sphere  of  usefulness  in  which 
they  will  have  opportunities  for  the  application  of 
all  their  best  qualities. 

In  the  department  of  teaching  it  almost  looks  as 


POSITION   OF   WOMEN 


123 


if  women  would  soon  monopolise  the  greater  part  of 
the  elementary  work  and  a  large  part  of  the  higher. 
This  seems  to  me  to  a  certain  extent  a  misfortune, 
for  a  manly  type  of  character  can  be  produced  in 
scholars  only  by  contact  with  men  of  the  highest 
character.  This,  indeed,  is  of  far  more  importance 
than  the  mere  ability  to  impart  a  certain  amount  of 
useful  information,  which  unfortunately  is  too  often 
all  that  is  sought  for  at  present. 

Even  the  exclusive  professions  of  the  Church  and 
Law  are  gradually  opening  their  doors  to  women  ;  and 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that,  if  their  influence  were 
more  felt  within  them,  although  not  necessarily 
through  the  public  administrations  or  practice,  we 
should  not  only  get  a  simplified  and  more  human 
form  of  theology,  but  also  better  forms  of  religion 
and  law  than  we  have  at  present.  If  the  services  of 
women  were  utilised  in  both  these  professions,  there 
would  soon  be  an  improvement  in  social  conditions, 
for  they  would  be  able  to  mould  public  opinion  and 
legislation  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  and  as  the 
improvement  went  on,  women  would  not  only  be 
allowed  to  take  part  in  the  making  of  laws,  but  also 
in  their  administration  in  those  departments  of  Gov- 
ernment in  which  they  are  fitted  to  render  efficient 
service. 

In  the  literary  profession  women  are  under  the  same 
conditions  as  men,  and  their  remuneration  depends 
entirely  on  the  quality  of  their  work,  and  not  at  all  on 
their  sex.  In  fact,  in  certain  departments  of  litera- 
ture, and  especially  in  novels  and  romances,  they  seem 
better  fitted  than  men  to  produce  the  highest  quality 
of  work,  as  indeed  is  abundantly  shown  at  the  present 


124  THE  EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

time,  many  of  our  best  and  most  prolific  writers  being 
women.  In  the  different  departments  of  art  and 
music,  and  on  the  stage,  improved  facilities  are  now 
offered  to  women  to  fit  them  to  take  any  position  their 
abilities  may  enable  them  to  fill,  and  not  infrequently 
they  command  very  high  rates  of  remuneration. 

In  the  newer  professions  connected  with  engineer- 
ing and  industry  women  have  not  made  much  progress, 
chiefly  because  the  physical  conditions  under  which 
they  are  carried  on  are  not  suitable.  In  some  of  the 
more  artistic  and  scientific,  however,  a  beginning  has 
been  made.  In  architecture,  surveying  and  in  various 
departments  of  constructive  art,  women  are  finding 
congenial  occupations,  while  electrical  engineering 
and  its  applications  promise  a  wide  field  of  activity. 
Many  engineers  employ  women  for  drawing  and  cal- 
culations, and  no  doubt  some  of  them  will  aspire  to 
the  more  responsible  positions. 

In  applied  art  and  commerce  and  in  many  depart- 
ments of  the  civil  service  women  are  gradually  replac- 
ing men  for  the  lighter  occupations,  while  in  industry 
this  has  been  the  case  for  a  long  time.  In  all  these, 
improved  public  opinion,  legislation,  and  combination 
among  the  workers  themselves  are  gradually  bettering 
their  conditions,  although  some  of  them  are  still  very 
far  from  what  they  ought  to  be. 

The  so-called  domestic  industries  have  always  been 
the  special  field  of  women,  and  it  is  in  these  that  we 
find  the  lowest  depths  of  suffering  and  degradation, 
the  alleviation  of  which  is  one  of  the  most  pressing 
problems  of  the  day.  This  aspect  of  the  question 
opens  up  many  problems  connected  with  social  eco- 
nomics. 


POSITION   OF  WOMEN 


125 


The  position  of  women  and  children  is  inextricably 
bound  up  with  the  industrial  problems  which  are  now 
pressing  for  solution  in  all  countries  which 

.  ,         1     .    .,.       ,  ,  ..    .  ,     .  Economics 

are  considered  civilised ;  and  it  is  now  being  of  Women's 
recognised  that  many  of  our  social  evils  will  or  ' 
not  be  cured  until  women  are  economically  free,  and 
this  can  only  be  when  they  are  able  to  earn  their 
living.  The  opinion  that  such  a  state  of  affairs  will 
only  increase  the  competition,  severe  enough  at  pres- 
ent, is  a  very  shallow  one,  for  if  women  were  able  to 
support  themselves  by  their  work,  not  only  would  they 
raise  the  average  personal  dividend  in  the  world  by 
increasing  the  amount  of  production  without  enlarg- 
ing the  number  of  consumers,  but  they  would  also 
strike  at  the  root  of  the  population  question.  Instead 
of  getting  married  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  they 
would  wait  until  they  were  fairly  certain  that  they 
were  likely  to  improve  or  at  least  maintain  their  posi- 
tion, both  socially  and  economically,  and  in  many 
cases  they  would  not  marry  at  all.  Consequently  the 
supply  of  workers  would  tend  to  be  limited,  and  the 
equilibrium  between  the  numbers  of  the  sexes,  which 
has  been  disturbed  by  modern  industrial  conditions, 
would  gradually  be  restored.  The  training  of  women 
is  therefore  not  simply  an  educational  question,  but 
concerns  the  relations  of  labour  and  capital,  and  affects 
the  theories  both  of  the  production  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  wealth. 

An  interesting  writer  on  economics  has  said : 
"  The  best  economical  state  is,  of  course,  one  where 
there  are  no  idle  people,  none  who  consume  and  do 
not  produce,  none  who  quit  the  world  without  at  least 
replacing  the  value  which  they  have  destroyed.     We 


126  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

are  far  removed  from  this  state.  And  to  mention 
only  one  of  the  drawbacks,  it  is  a  blot  on  even  socie- 
ties the  most  thrifty,  that  nearly  one-half  of  their 
members  are  compelled  by  the  force  of  public  opin- 
ion, petty  hindrances,  and  positive  laws,  to  live  the 
somewhat  ignoble  and  unsatisfactory  life  of  con- 
sumers, or  to  curtail  their  powers  of  producing 
wealth.  I  speak  not  of  any  professed  trade  union  of 
recent  birth  and  local  character,  but  of  that  strong 
and  universal  trade  union  which  is  almost  as  old  as 
the  race,  which  has  our  earth  for  its  domain,  of  which 
all  men  are  the  members,  and  from  which  most 
women  are  the  sufferers.  The  one  sex  has  appropri- 
ated the  best  remunerated  and  most  enviable  of 
employments,  those  which  bring  wealth  and  honour, 
and  has  permitted  women  to  enter  only  a  few  profes- 
sions offering  paltry  rewards.  This  is  not  the  place 
to  criticise  the  morality  of  this  partially  artificial 
separation  ;  but  it  is  fitting  here  to  deplore  the  waste 
of  labour,  the  frittering  away  of  excellent  capa- 
bilities, the  enforced  idleness  of  so  many  fingers 
and  brains  that  ought  to  be  busy  creators  of  wealth. 
As  one  contemplates  these  talents  spilt  on  the 
ground,  so  to  speak,  it  is  almost  unavoidable  to  carry 
away  the  idea  that  free-trade  between  nations,  im- 
provements in  taxation,  and  a  settlement  of  the 
economical  questions  which  now  float  on  the  surface, 
may  be  of  less  moment  in  an  economical  point  of 
view  than  the  complete  breaking  clown  of  those  legal 
and  social  barriers,  whether  in  the  form  of  statutes 
or  sneers,  which  prevent  women  from  entering  what 
professions  they  choose.  Clear  these  barriers  out  of 
the  way,  and  not  only  will  there  be  a  better  distribu- 


POSITION   OF  WOMEN 


127 


tion  of  talents,  those  which  are  now  wasted  upon 
sewing,  with  a  few  pence  a  day  as  remuneration, 
finding  a  congenial  and  lucrative  vocation  in  the 
lighter  handicrafts  ;  but  a  large  portion  of  women 
who  now  produce  nothing,  economically  non-valeurs, 
and  who  may  be  excused  for  being  such,  seeing  they 
are  emphatically  told  by  their  teachers  that  doing 
nothing  is  their  sphere,  and  seeing  the  professions  to 
which  they  may  resort  are  monotonous,  not  lucrative, 
and  far  from  inviting,  will  be  stimulated  to  do  good 
work."  1  While  sympathising  with  the  wish  to  free 
women  from  all  labour  of  a  degrading  nature,  and 
especially  from  the  objectionable  features  of  the  fac- 
tory system,  and  doing  nothing  to  annihilate  the 
difference  of  sex,  we  must  insist  on  women  having  a 
free  choice  of  occupations  for  which  they  are  fitted. 
In  an  ideal  state  of  society  possibly  no  woman  would 
be  required  to  earn  her  living  in  the  same  way  as 
man,  but  be  his  complement  to  sweeten  and  brighten 
life.  Under  present  circumstances  too  often  what 
are  called  the  most  successful  marriages  are  not  only 
the  tombs  of  love,  but  also  the  tombs  of  the  best 
possibilities  of  life.  Many  women  are  compelled  to 
sell  themselves  body  and  soul,  either  with  the  form 
of  marriage  or  without  it,  in  order  that  they  may 
obtain  a  livelihood  and  what  they  imagine  to  be 
independence.  The  frivolities,  excitements,  or  hard 
physical  and  mental  work  of  modern  life  unfit  women 
for  becoming  the  healthy  mothers  of  healthy  chil- 
dren, and  in  many  cases  prevent  them  from  perform- 
ing  the   proper   duties   of  maternity.     The   present 

John  Macdonell,  A  Survey  of  Political  Economy,  p.  36. 


128  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

conditions  must  therefore  be  considered  anti-social  in 
their  effects  on  future  generations.  It  might  seem 
harsh  to  forbid  the  labour  of  married  women,  at  least 
at  any  of  the  heavier  or  monotonous  occupations,  but 
in  the  end  this  restriction  would  be  a  blessing  to  all 
concerned,  and  such  an  ideal  ought  certainly  to  be 
kept  in  view.  Exceptional  cases  of  hardship  could 
always  be  dealt  with  by  a  properly  constituted 
authority. 

What  is  usually  called  the  "social  evil "  is  really 
due  in  great  part  to  economic  causes.  Instead  of 
fining  or  imprisoning  those  who  are  the  unwilling 
victims  of  a  bad  system,  we  ought  to  set  about  the 
solution  of  the  economic  problems  which  accompany 
it.  The  public  should  insist  that  employers  should 
either  pay  their  female  workers  sufficient  to  enable 
them  to  live  healthy,  human  lives,  and  thus  free  them 
from  the  temptations  to  which  they  are  exposed  by 
poverty,  or  close  their  works.  No  industry  can  be 
for  the  good  of  a  nation  which  only  survives  on  the 
degradation  of  its  women.  It  has  been  well  said : 
"  It  is  one  of  the  enigmas  of  modern  life  that  the 
literal  striking  of  a  woman,  however  lightly,  should 
brand  the  offender  as  a  social  outcast,  while,  in  an 
economic  way,  the  deadliest  blows  may  be  struck  at 
her  with  impunity ;  and  that  society  even  honours 
men  who  get  rich  by  such  unknightly  attacks  on  the 
defenceless.  The  modern  sense  of  personal  honour 
is,  like  the  modern  standard  of  morality,  dualistic."  1 

Combination  on  the  part  of  women  workers  will 
produce  the  same  results  as  it  has  done  in  the  case 

1  Professor  John  B.  Clark,  The  Philosophy  of  Wealth,  p.  165. 


POSITION  OF  WOMEN 


129 


of  men  ;  and  it  is  to  this,  combined  with  stringent 
regulations  regarding  sanitary  conditions,  and  to  im- 
proved opportunities  for  general  and  technical  educa- 
tion, that  we  must  look  for  at  least  one  part  of  the 
solution  of  the  industrial  and  social  problems  con- 
nected with  women.  In  all  these  directions  a  begin- 
ning has  been  made.  Trade  unions  for  women  are 
now  assuming  importance,  not  only  from  their  extent, 
but  also  from  the  influence  they  are  able  to  exercise 
by  themselves  and  in  conjunction  with  those  of  men  ; 
for  the  men  are  at  last  beginning  to  understand  that 
they  rise  or  fall  with  the  women,  and,  more  generally, 
that  when  one  class  of  society  profits  unduly  at  the 
expense  of  another,  there  is  a  tendency  to  injure  the 
stability  and  efficiency  of  the  social  body  as  a  whole. 
It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  male  workers 
have  very  often  displayed  a  lack  of  sympathy,  not  to 
speak  of  chivalry,  to  women  seeking  employment  in 
departments  of  industry  which  had  hitherto  been 
regarded  by  men  as  exclusively  their  own,  that  the 
public  have  remained  indifferent  when  any  dispute 
arose,  and  the  consequence  has  been  that  the  claims 
of  women  have  been  overlooked.  Men  should  be 
taught,  as  a  fundamental  article  of  faith  and  conduct, 
to  respect  and  honour  women,  and  to  do  all  they  can 
to  improve  their  social  and  economic  conditions. 

In  an  unorganised  condition  the  labour  of  women 
and  children  leads  not  merely  to  the  reduction  of  their 
wages  to  the  starvation  point,  but  also  to  the  "degra- 
dation "  of  men's  labour,  and  to  sweating  in  its  worst 
forms.  Care  should  be  taken  that  the  competition 
between  the  sexes  is  fair,  and  that  men  and  women 
are  paid  equal  wages  for  equal  amounts  of  work  of 


130  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

the  same  kind ;  for  so  long  as  we  have  an  individu- 
alistic system  of  industry  like  the  present,  what  the 
worker  is  is  nothing,  what  the  worker  does  is  every- 
thing, and  any  attempt  to  reduce  the  wages  of  either 
sex  below  what  common  sense  showed  to  be  reason- 
able should  be  resisted  by  the  whole  strength  of 
both. 

In  comparing  the  work  of  men  and  women,  and 
the  wages  received,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  con- 
ditions are  not  generally  the  same.  As  a  rule  the 
women  are  engaged  in  departments  requiring  less 
strength,  skill  and  intelligence.  The  difference  as 
regards  the  two  latter  qualifications  will  tend  to  dis- 
appear, but  as  regards  strength  it  will  never  be 
desirable  that  women  should  engage  in  operations 
involving  great  physical  exertion.  Even  in  work 
of  a  lighter  kind  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  there 
are  various  reasons  which  make  the  services  of  women 
less  desirable  to  employers  than  those  of  men,  and 
these  must  be  remembered  in  all  our  efforts  to  im- 
prove the  industrial  position  of  women.  Moreover, 
the  industries  in  which  women  are  engaged  are  as 
a  rule  localised,  and  the  workers  have  not  the  same 
freedom  as  men  in  the  choice  of  their  occupations,  so 
that  their  work  is  less  mobile,  and  therefore  from  this 
standpoint  of  less  economic  value. 

As  I  have  already  pointed  out,  it  is  a  condition  of 
the  highest  economic  efficiency  that  the  race  should 
Women's  be  provided  with  good,  healthy  and  capable 
influence.  mothers,  for  on  them  will  to  a  very  large 
extent  depend  the  conduct  of  their  future  children. 
After  all  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  providing  occu- 
pations for  women,  we  must  always  remember  that 


POSITION   OF   WOMEN 


131 


their  chief  work  is  to  be  found  in  the  home,  where 
they  are  the  nurses  of  our  childhood,  and  in  this 
capacity,  as  Ruskin  says,  they  are  the  great  pro- 
ducers of  wealth.  This  will  be  increasingly  true  as 
society  advances,  and  as  improved  industrial  organ- 
isation tends  to  reduce  the  inequality  of  the  numbers 
of  the  sexes  produced  by  the  great  economic  changes 
which  have  been  going  on  during  the  present  century. 

Too  often,  under  present  conditions,  women  are 
compelled  to  become  the  mere  playthings  of  men,  or 
scolded  housekeepers,  not  wives.  A  great  many  of 
them  are  only  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water, 
or  household  drudges  from  whom  all  activity  of  mind 
or  body  soon  departs.  When  women  are  practically 
the  slaves  of  men,  they  have  all  the  defects  of  slaves, 
and  they  avenge  themselves  by  the  training  which 
they  give  their  children,  who  come  to  possess  many 
of  their  mental,  moral  and  physical  malformations. 

Moreover,  all  experience  shows  that  the  spiritual 
is  the  parent  and  first  cause  of  the  practical,  and  that 
women  have  a  great  influence  in  raising  or  depressing 
the  spiritual  and  social  ideals  of  the  community,  so 
that,  apart  altogether  from  motherhood,  it  is  of  the 
highest  advantage  that  they  should  be  cultured.  As 
Ruskin  has  said,  our  women  should  be  "fairest  be- 
cause purest  and  thoughtfullest,  trained  in  all  high 
knowledge,  as  in  all  courteous  art,  in  dance,  in  song, 
in  lofty  learning,  in  loftier  courage,  in  loftiest  love  — 
able  alike  to  cheer,  to  enchant,  or  save  the  souls  of 
men "  ;  and  any  system  of  education  which  makes 
women  less  womanly  is  deficient  in  a  most  essential 
element.  In  that  complex  system  of  forces  which  is 
called  Society,  women's  influence  will  therefore  be 


132  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap,  vi 

i 
exercised  chiefly  in  those  spheres  of  benevolent  activ- 
ity which  spring  from  a  love  of  the  human  family, 
and  which  will  require  much  attention  for  many  a 
day,  no  matter  how  rapid  social  progress  may  be. 
Not  only  will  they  carry  on  much  valuable  work 
themselves,  but  they  will  inspire  men  with  their 
ideals  for  social  improvement  and  for  the  advance- 
ment of  human  welfare. 

Even  from  an  economic  aspect,  women's  influence 
may  be  greater  than  that  of  any  other  force,  for  who 
can  estimate  her  power  to  raise  the  enthusiasm  and 
stimulate  the  energies  of  men,  not  only  in  the  per- 
formance of  steady  work,  but  also  of  deeds  of  daring 
and  of  heroism  and  works  of  great  originality.  More- 
over, the  womanly  woman  is  a  good  mother,  a  devoted 
wife,  a  gentle  sister,  and  a  quiet  guardian  of  the  family 
hearth,  and  thus  has  a  most  profound  influence  in 
moulding  human  destiny. 


CHAPTER   VII 

CO-OPERATION 

As  I  have  already  indicated,  the  conditions  of 
maximum  efficiency  in  any  organism  or  machine  re- 
quire that  no  energy  be  exerted  with  useless  Introduc. 
results,  that  friction  be  reduced  to  a  mini-  tory- 
mum,  and  that  the  various  parts  be  duly  co-ordinated 
to  each  other.  An  industrial  organisation  must  con- 
form to  similar  conditions.  Its  various  parts  must 
co-operate  to  reduce  waste  and  energy,  and  lead  not 
only  to  cheap  production  but  also  to  efficient  distri- 
bution. 

Moreover,  the  biological  conditions  must  be  met, 
and  the  lives  of  the  workers  and  the  welfare  of  the 
community  must  never  be  subordinated  to  mere  finan- 
cial considerations.  True  economic  cheapening  of 
production  is  to  be  found  in  fully  utilising  the  re- 
sources of  nature  and  in  preventing  all  unnecessary 
expenditure  of  energy.  These  conditions  are  not 
met  by  the  ordinary  competitive  system  of  trade  and 
industry.  As  in  the  physical  world  human  progress 
means  throwing  off  the  brute  inheritance,  gradually 
throwing  it  off  through  ages  of  endless  struggle  that 
are  by  and  by  to  make  struggle  needless,  so  in  the 
industrial  world  progress  is  marked  by  throwing  off 
the  industrial  struggle  which  marks  our  present  com- 
petitive system,  and  gradually  replacing  it  by  one  in 


134  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

which  co-operation  takes  the  place  of  competition,  and 
rational  co-ordination  and  economy  take  the  place  of 
chaotic  production  and  consequent  waste  and  unequal 
distribution.  Co-operation  thus  assumes  immediate 
importance  at  the  present  time.  "  Association  for 
good  and  for  evil  is  the  characteristic  of  our  age ;  it 
needs  to  be  inspired  by  a  moral  force,  and  that  need, 
as  we  trust,  will  be  supplied.  Co-operation,  in  other 
words,  answers  to  the  position  which  we  have  reached 
in  social  evolution."  1 

The  co-operative  movement  marks  at  least  the 
beginning  of  a  rational  system  of  the  organisation  of 
industry,  and  it  is  intended  to  meet  the  con- 
Co-opera-  ditions  which  have  been  mentioned.  Looked 
at  from  an  economic  point  of  view,  its  aim 
is  to  prevent  that  waste  in  production  and  exchange 
which  grows  out  of  unregulated  competition.  When 
it  is  confined  to  distributive  work,  it  is  designed  to 
enable  a  community  of  consumers  to  provide  the 
goods  which  they  require  for  their  own  use  without 
the  intervention  of  unnecessary  middlemen,  and  thus 
to  reduce  the  cost.  When,  in  addition,  production  is 
undertaken,  co-operation  evolves  the  machinery  for 
correlating  supply  and  demand,  and  thus  prevents 
alternation  between  those  periods  of  great  activity 
and  corresponding  depression  which  inflict  so  much 
hardship  on  all  classes  of  the  community,  and  espe- 
cially on  the  workers. 

The  theory  of  co-operation,  however,  is  not  a  mere 
theory  of  mechanics  or  of  industrial  organisation ;  it 
is  a  theory  of  all  life,  and  if  the  movement  is  to  do 

1  Bishop  of  Durham,  The  Incarnation  and  the  Common  Life,  p.  248 


CO-OPERATION 


135 


much  good  it  must  not  stop  at  commercial  aspects, 
but  must  develop  until  it  includes  the  mental,  moral 
and  religious  aspects  of  human  life.  In  the  eloquent 
words  of  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  "  Co-operation,  in 
its  simplest  sense,  expresses  the  true  organisation  of 
labour.  Labour  is  the  condition  of  healthy  life,  and 
labour  ought  never  to  be  vain  or  conflicting.  But  co- 
operation is  more  than  this.  Co-operation  defines 
the  right  relation,  not  only  of  the  members  of  a 
society  one  to  another,  but  of  men  as  men,  bound 
together  in  the  fellowship  of  one  nature,  one  life,  one 
destiny.  Co-operation  is  the  harmonious  action  of 
men  and  classes  and  nations,  bringing  together  the 
ripe  results  of  their  powers,  their  endowments,  their 
opportunities,  for  the  good  of  the  race  as  fellow- 
workers,  for  the  establishment  of  a  divine  unity,  the 
crown  of  common  service,  and  the  reward  of  individ- 
ual labour.  I  admit  that  we  are  commonly  satisfied 
with  a  narrower  view  of  co-operation.  I  admit  that 
as  yet  we  have  hardly  approached  the  question  of  co- 
operation under  its  loftiest  form,  in  regard  to  the 
special  fitness  of  the  several  nations  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  special  services  to  the  race.  But  none  the 
less  I  lay  stress  on  the  widest  application  of  the  prin- 
ciple. The  whole  influences  the  least  part.  The 
least  part  gains  its  dignity  from  the  whole.  If  we 
are  to  estimate  rightly  the  value  of  a  single  step,  we 
must  know  and  we  must  remember  an  end.  It  may 
be  said  that  the  end  of  co-operation  to  which  I  have 
pointed  is  unattainable.  At  any  rate  I  do  not  think 
it  will  be  said  that  it  is  undesirable.  And  if  we  agree 
as  to  the  ideal  toward  which  human  endeavour  ought 
to  be  directed,  we  shall  have  a  test  of  progress.     As 


136  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

labourers  together,  therefore,  for  progress,  we  shall 
guard  ourselves  from  sacrificing  the  whole  to  the 
part,  or  the  future  to  the  present,  or  the  spiritual  to 
the  material.  We  shall  strive  to  secure  that  each 
man,  that  each  class,  each  nation,  shall  be  enabled  to 
bring  to  mankind  that  which  is  its  proper  service, 
without  jealousy  and  without  reserve,  with  the  power 
of  a  wider  vision  and  a  larger  sympathy  that  should 
control  and  discipline  the  impulses  of  selfish  aggran- 
disement, that  the  loftiest  hopes  shall  find  a  natural 
home  in  every  family.  For  us  who  believe  in  co- 
operation, human  progress  is,  in  a  word,  the  advance 
'  in  many  parts  and  many  fashions '  towards  the  reali- 
sation of  that  corporate  life  to  the  fulness  of  which 
every  man  brings  his  peculiar  offerings,  and  in  which 
each  man  shares  according  to  his  capacity,  all  bring- 
ing alike  and  sharing  without  waste  and  without  self- 
assertion.  And  for  this  progress  we  shall  gladly 
spend  and  be  spent.  Thus,  in  seeking  for  improve- 
ment in  the  conditions  of  industry  and  commerce,  we 
shall  not  think  simply  of  higher  wages  or  of  cheaper 
production,  or  of  the  advancement  of  one  class,  but 
rather  of  reconciling  interests  which  appear  to  be 
conflicting,  of  developing  trustful  fellowship  between 
those  who  have  to  fulfil  different  functions,  of  making 
labour  itself  in  all  its  different  forms  a  true  human 
life,  and  not  a  provision  for  living.  To  this  end, 
keeping  our  ideal  in  view,  we  shall  consider  from  time 
to  time  what  element  in  the  ideal  may  be  realised, 
what  is  the  next  step  towards  the  goal  which  can  be 
securely  taken.  In  this  light  co-operative  production 
in  a  wide  sense  is  seen  in  its  true  position  as  a  clear 
and  possible  advance  towards  industrial  concord.     It 


vii  CO-OPERATION  j^y 

marks  a  step  in  industrial  growth.  It  has  a  moral 
value  even  greater  than  its  economic  value."  1  This 
is  a  very  high  ideal,  so  high  indeed  that  some  will  be 
inclined  to  say  that  it  is  not  even  in  the  minds  of  the 
majority  of  co-operators.  It  must  be  admitted  that 
many  who  call  themselves  co-operators  have  forgotten 
the  ideal  of  co-operation  and  are  utterly  awanting  in 
the  true  co-operative  spirit,  and  that  many  of  the 
works  which  are  called  co-operative  are  simply  joint- 
stock  companies  in  which  dividends  are  the  chief 
concerns  of  the  shareholders.  A  glance  at  the  de- 
velopment, methods  and  results  of  co-operation  will 
show  how  far  the  movement  has  been  in  the  direction 
of  its  ideal. 

Like  many  other  movements  which  have  left  their 
impress  on  the  world,  co-operation  had  its  origin  in 
the  French  Revolution,  when  men's  minds   ^  .  . 

Origin  and 

were    directed   to   many   schemes    for   the  Deveiop- 
amelioration    of    human    society.      Robert  co-opera- 
Owen,    Saint    Simon    and    Fourier    caught  tlon' 
the   spirit   of  the    Revolution,   and   endeavoured   to 
translate  it  into  practical  action.     To  the  first-named 
of  these  especially  is  due  the  honour,  not  simply  of 
conceiving  the  idea  of  improving  the  condition  of  the 
working-classes  by  a  complete  reorganisation  of  the 
industrial  and  social  systems  of  society,  but  also  of 
carrying   out    some   of    these   into   practical    effect. 
True,  his  experiments  turned  out  unsuccessfully,  be- 
cause he  trusted  too  much  to  the  sudden  improve- 
ment of  human  nature,  and  because  they  were  too 
much  in  advance  of  the  existing  conditions  of  society 

1  Co-operative  Congress,  May  1894. 


138  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

and  of  public  opinion.  Still  he  sowed  the  seed, 
which,  following  a  law  of  nature,  seemed  to  die  and 
disappear  for  a  time,  but  which  in  truth  was  slowly 
germinating. 

Incomplete  and  somewhat  spasmodic  attempts  were 
made  in  the  year  1828  to  realise  some  of  Owen's 
ideas  by  the  formation  of  what  were  called  Union 
Shops,  for  the  supply  of  the  common  necessaries  of 
life,  the  profits  of  which  were  to  be  applied  to  the 
formation  of  productive  works  and  independent  in- 
dustrial colonies.  For  a  short  time  these  shops 
seemed  to  flourish,  but  in  1834  the  whole  movement 
collapsed,  and  Dr.  King,  who  was  their  chief  pro- 
moter, gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  main  cause  of 
the  failure  was  the  purely  commercial  spirit  and  greed 
of  profits  which  seemed  to  animate  the  members,  a 
fact  not  without  significance  at  the  present  time. 

For  some  years  the  Chartist  movement,  which, 
while  political  in  its  nature,  had  for  its  object  the 
social  amelioration  of  the  people,  absorbed  the  atten- 
tion of  those  who  took  any  interest  in  such  matters, 
and  during  the  excitement  nothing  was  heard  of  co- 
operation as  a  distinct  movement.  In  1844  the  now 
historic  Rochdale  Pioneers  started  their  operations 
on  a  very  small  scale,  and  with  that  wonderful  success 
which  is  one  of  the  most  striking  incidents  in  the 
history  of  co-operation.  My  present  object,  however, 
is  not  to  write  history,  but  to  indicate  the  main  lines 
of  the  evolution  of  the  co-operative  movement,  and 
the  principles  which  guided  them.  Mr.  James  Deans 
has  said  that  the  great  aim  of  the  Pioneers  was  "  to 
unite  their  scanty  capital,  take  up  industrial  enter- 
prise, secure  its  profits,  and  by  those  means  bring 


CO-OPERATION 


139 


about  an  increased  and  wider  distribution  of  the 
wealth  of  the  nation,  and  to  use  this  increased  wealth 
for  the  mental,  the  moral  and  the  social  improve- 
ment of  their  class  —  to  make  wealth  certainly,  but 
to  make  this  wealth  for  the  purpose  of  raising  their 
fellow-men  to  their  true  condition  of  manhood.  The 
constitution  of  the  society  was  also  of  the  most  demo- 
cratic nature  —  one  man,  one  vote,  and  no  money 
qualification.  The  distinguishing  features  of  this 
new  co-operative  venture  from  those  which  had  for- 
merly been  made  were,  that  it  proposed  to  pay  in- 
terest on  capital  at  the  rate  of  3  per  cent,  and  to 
divide  the  remainder  of  the  profits  at  an  equal  rate 
upon  the  members'  purchases  ;  and  to  these  arrange- 
ments is  attributed  much  of  the  success  which  has 
been  accomplished." 

The  Rochdale  Pioneers'  Society  overcame  all  diffi- 
culties, and  outlived  not  only  internal  divisions  and 
jealousies,  but  also  external  prejudices  and  opposi- 
tion ;  it  raised  up  many  imitations,  a  considerable 
number  of  which,  however,  had  only  a  very  short 
existence,  owing  in  many  cases  to  want  of  harmony 
among  the  members,  bad  management,  insufficient 
capital,  or  dishonest  officials,  an  experience  which 
proved  that  movements  of  the  kind  can  only  develop 
as  men  and  society  are  prepared  for  them.  Notwith- 
standing all  difficulties,  however,  co-operation  con- 
tinued to  increase,  and  in  1864  no  less  than  395 
societies  made  returns  to  the  Registrar,  possessing 
a  share  and  loan  capital  of  ^774,000,  doing  an  annual 
trade  of  nearly  ^3,000,000,  and  making  an  annual 
profit  of  ,£225,000,  results  which  were  of  a  very 
creditable  and  even  surprising  description. 


I40  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

The  leaders  of  the  co-operative  movement,  how- 
ever, looked  upon  it  not  simply  as  an  end  in  itself, 
but  as  a  means  to  an  end,  namely,  the  better  organi- 
sation of  industry.  As  a  step  towards  the  realisation 
of  this  ideal,  they  advised  the  formation  of  a  federa- 
tion of  societies  for  the  purpose  of  undertaking  the 
wholesale  trade  of  the  movement,  thereby  protecting 
the  societies  from  the  imposition  of  the  wholesale 
traders,  and  securing  the  profits  of  wholesale  dealing. 
After  considerable  discussion  the  North  of  England 
Wholesale  Society  was  formed,  and  began  business 
in  Manchester  in  1863,  and  in  1871  it  extended  its 
constitution  and  became  the  English  Wholesale  So- 
ciety. Following  on  the  same  lines,  the  Scottish 
Wholesale  Society  was  formed  in  1868,  and  com- 
menced business  in  Glasgow.  Both  of  these  organi- 
sations have  now  greatly  extended,  and  supply  a  large 
proportion  of  the  goods  sold  by  the  retail  societies. 

This  they  do,  not  only  by  purchasing  direct  from 
the  producers,  but  also  by  entering  the  field  of  pro- 
duction on  their  own  account,  or  in  connection  with 
other  associations.  The  productive  undertakings  of 
different  kinds,  however,  have  not  been  so  successful 
as  the  distributive,  and  in  fact  many  of  them  have 
been  failures.  This  has  arisen  to  a  considerable 
extent  from  the  want  of  experience  on  the  part  of 
those  in  charge  of  them,  and  from  extreme  competi- 
tion on  the  part  of  individual  manufacturers  or  joint- 
stock  companies.  Yet,  as  one  of  the  veteran  leaders 
of  the  movement  pointed  out,  many  of  the  difficulties 
came  from  within  rather  than  from  without ;  they 
were  due  to  jealousy,  to  suspicion,  to  self-assertion, 
to  want  of  generous  confidence  and  courageous  en- 


CO-OPERATION 


141 


thusiasm.  These  are  gradually  disappearing,  and  in 
recent  years  co-operative  production  has  made  very 
considerable  advance,  and  one  of  the  chief  require- 
ments of  the  movement,  namely,  the  correlation  of 
supply  and  demand,  has  been  more  fully  met. 

In  every  movement  connected  with  the  organisa- 
tion   of   industry,  or  indeed  of  society  generally,  it 
is  much  more  important  to  be  certain  that 
we  are  going  in  the  right  direction,  than  to      of  Co-S 
make  the  steps  either  long  or  rapid.     In  co-    °Peratlon- 
operation,  therefore,  great  care  should  be  taken  that 
the  methods  adopted  are  such  as  will  lead  to  the 
attainment,  or  at  least  to  the  advancement,  of  the 
objects  in  view.      We  will  briefly  consider  some  of 
these  methods,  and  try  to   ascertain  how  far  they 
have  common  components  and  how  far  they  differ. 

The  most  usual  form  of  co-operative  agency  is  the 
"store."  According  to  the  regulations  of  the  Co- 
operative Union  of  Societies, 

"Each  Applicant  for  Admission  shall  be  deemed  by 
such  application  to  accept  as  the  principles  by  which 
all  its  business  transactions  should  be  guided  the 
desire  to  promote  the  practice  of  truthfulness,  jus- 
tice and  economy  in  production  and  exchange  — 
"  (1)  By  the  abolition  of  all  false  dealing,  either  — 

(a)  Direct,  by  representing  any  article  produced 
or  sold  to  be  other  than  what  it  is  known  to  the 
producer  or  vendor  to  be,  or 

(b)  Indirect,  by  concealing  from  the  purchaser 
any  fact  known  to  the  vendor,  material  to  be 
known  by  the  purchaser,  to  enable  him  to  judge 
of  the  value  of  the  article  purchased ; 

"  (2)  By  conciliating  the  conflicting  interests  of  the 


142  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

capitalist,  the  worker  and  the  purchaser,  through 

an   equitable   division    among    them    of   the   fund 

commonly  known  as  Profit ; 
"  (3)  By  preventing  the  waste  of  labour  now  caused 

by  unregulated  competition." 

It  is  not  necessary  that  we  should  at  present  enter 
into  details  *  of  the  methods  of  organising  and  work- 
ing a  store.  It  will  be  sufficient  if  we  mention  a  few 
of  the  chief  points.  The  capital  is  supplied  wholly 
by  the  members,  and  it  is  the  usual  practice  to  give 
interest  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent.  In  addition  to  this 
they  are  paid  dividends  on  the  amounts  of  their  pur- 
chases varying  generally  from  is.  6d.  to  2s.  6d.  in  the 
pound  sterling,  the  goods  being  sold  at  the  current 
rates  of  the  ordinary  retail  shops.  The  store,  there- 
fore, affords  a  means  of  profitable  investment  for 
savings,  and  at  the  same  time  reduces  the  prices  of 
goods  to  the  members.  Its  economic  advantages  are 
therefore  consid«rable.  Moreover,  being  under  the 
direct  control  of  the  members,  the  store  becomes  a 
centre  of  thought  as  well  as  of  trade,  and  this  is 
a  most  useful  means  of  education  in  self-government, 
and  prepares  the  way  for  more  important  undertak- 
ings. Yet  it  is  evident  that  co-operative  distribu- 
tion, or  more  correctly  speaking,  co-operative  con- 
sumption, useful  as  it  is  in  many  ways,  will  never 
create  a  new  industrial  order,  or  by  itself  do  much 
to  advance  the  attainment  of  the  co-operative  ideal. 
"Labour  here  does  not  in  any  way  share  in  the 
produce  with  capital.  The  relation  of  employer  and 
employed  remains  just  the  same,  and  not  a  single 

1  Cf.  Acland  and  Jones,  Working  Men  Co-operators. 


VII  CO-OPERATION 


143 


workman  would  change  the  conditions  of  his  em- 
ployment if  the  store  were  to  extinguish  all  the 
shops  in  the  town."  *  On  the  contrary,  stores  which 
simply  save  the  profits  of  the  middleman  and  reduce 
the  expenses  of  management  may  tend  to  increase 
the  competition  and  make  the  economic  position 
of  the  workers  worse  than  ever.  A  great  part  of 
the  money  saved  may  be  used  in  the  reduction  of 
prices,  and  therefore  of  wages,  and  will  thus  help  to 
make  the  struggle  for  existence  more  intense. 

But  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  the  co-operative 
movement  is  no  longer  confined  to  the  retail  trade. 
It  now  includes  a  large  wholesale  and  therefore  also 
a  large  transport  and  distributive  business,  and  is 
steadily  extending  itself  to  many  departments  of 
manufacture.  It  is  thus  evolving  the  machinery  for 
correlating  supply  and  demand,  which  should  be  one 
of  the  most  essential  features  in  all  co-operative  or- 
ganisations. Only  by  means  such  as  these  can  the 
fluctuations  of  trade,  from  which  all  classes  suffer  so 
much,  be  reduced  and  ultimately  eliminated,  and  the 
present  waste  of  energy  and  of  human  life  be  largely 
prevented. 

It  ought  to  be  noted  that  it  is  impossible  to  draw  a 
strict  line  of  division  between  production  and  distri- 
bution. In  fact  distribution  is  but  a  step  in  produc- 
tion, for  what  is  wanted  is  not  to  have  goods  in 
certain  parts  of  the  country  or  even  town,  but  to 
have  them  exactly  where  they  are  wanted,  and  in  the 
shape  in  which  they  are  most  useful.  The  baker's  van 
which  conveyed  the  bread  to  the  house  of  the  con- 

1  Frederic  Harrison,  Fortnightly  Review,  iii.  p.  482. 


144  THE  EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

sumer,  the  steamship  which  carried  the  wheat  across 
the  Atlantic,  and  the  farmer  who  sowed  and  reaped 
the  grain,  are  all  as  essential  elements  in  the  produc- 
tion of  the  bread  as  the  baker  who  actually  baked  it. 

Besides  the  system  of  production  carried  on  by  the 
wholesale  and  other  associations  in  connection  with 
the  retail  societies,  generally  called  the  federal  sys- 
tem, there  are  various  other  systems,1  all  of  which 
have  their  supporters.  An  organisation  composed  of 
societies,  workers  or  other  individuals  as  shareholders, 
is  believed  by  many  to  offer  the  readiest  means  of 
reaching  the  goal  at  which  they  are  aiming,  by  en- 
abling co-operators  to  become  their  own  employers. 
They  moreover  think  that  by  encouraging  experts  in 
particular  trades,  and  thus  preventing  too  great  a 
centralisation,  the  results  would  be  most  beneficial. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  very  influential  section  of 
co-operators  is  of  opinion  that  such  groups  of  self- 
governing  workers,  owning  alike  the  instruments  and 
the  products  of  labour,  or  of  workers  and  other  share- 
holders, competing  for  profits  in  the  markets  of  the 
world,  are  only  groups  of  individualistic  capitalists, 
and  are  co-operators  only  in  a  very  limited  sense,  in 
fact  that  unrestrained  competition  may  drive  them  to 
longer  hours  and  lower  wages  than  are  paid  in  ordi- 
nary commercial  establishments.  Mrs.  Sydney  Webb 
has  said :  "  The  Industrial  Revolution,  now  rapidly 
extending  to  all  industries,  has  rendered  it  practically 
impossible  for  the  worker  to  own  the  instruments  of 
production  without  himself  becoming  a  capitalist, 
able  to  live  independent  of   his    own    labour.     The 

1  Cf.  Acland  and  Jones,  Working  Men  Co-operators,  p.  92. 


vii  CO-OPERATION  145 

ideal  of  associations  of  producers  belongs  essentially 
to  the  time  when  industry  was  carried  on  mainly  by 
hand  in  domestic  establishments.  We  need  not  dis- 
pute the  possible  educational  advantages  of  the  self- 
governing  workshop.  Steam  and  machinery  have 
killed  it  as  they  have  exterminated  the  hand-loom 
weaver." 

There  is  a  considerable  element  of  truth  in  both 
these  positions,  and  they  are  not  necessarily  antago- 
nistic to  each  other.  We  might  just  as  reasonably 
expect  the  purely  capitalistic  undertakings  to  be- 
come suddenly  co-operative  as  expect  all  co-operative 
undertakings  to  be  perfect  from  the  beginning.  The 
co-operative  workshops  having  a  proper  system  of 
co-ordination  with  each  other  and  of  affiliation  with 
the  wholesale  societies,  may  perform  a  very  useful 
function  in  the  evolution  of  industry.1  They  would 
not  only  raise  the  conditions  of  their  own  workers, 
but  also  help  to  raise  those  of  all  the  others.  There 
does  not  seem  to  be  any  insuperable  difficulty  in 
formulating  a  working  scheme  which  would  carry 
out  the  essential  principles  of  both  parties.  As  the 
Bishop  of  Durham  has  truly  remarked :  "  There 
appears  to  be  ample  room  for  the  beneficent  activity 
of  '  Individualists  '  and  '  Federalists.'  They  deal  with 
different  conditions  and  different  problems.  Each 
body  has  its  own  work ;  and  both  works  must  be  faced 
if  co-operation  is  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  industry. 
The  store  and  the  wholesale  deal  with  the  limited 
wants  of   a  particular  class.     By  the  interchange  of 

1  Cf.  Paper  by  Mr.  J.  Deans  on  "  The  best  Method  of  consolidating 
and  federating  existing  productive  Efforts,"  Co-operative  Congress, 
June  1892. 


I46  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

their  experience  waste  can  be  checked,  quality  can 
be  guaranteed,  competition  can  be  kept  in  abeyance. 
But  questions  of  wider  production  both  for  home 
and  foreign  use  remain.  These  must  be  met  by 
some  distinct  form  of  association.  I  do  not  presume 
to  decide  what  the  form  or  forms  will  be  ;  but  it  still 
appears  to  me  that  profit-sharing,  in  one  shape  or 
other,  is  the  natural  bridge  to  that  which  I  most 
desire,  the  collective  ownership  of  large  works  by 
the  workmen." 

Moreover,  as  I  will  point  out  farther  on,  when 
goods  are  made  for  use  and  not  for  profit,  there  will 
gradually  grow  up  a  system  of  local  production  in 
many  of  the  subsidiary  articles  of  daily  use,  which 
will  have  the  effect  of  limiting  competition  to  a  very 
large  extent,  and  enable  populous  districts  to  supply 
many  of  their  own  wants.  In  short,  the  industrial 
organisation  of  the  future  must  be  sufficiently  elastic 
to  allow  all  forms  of  association  to  exist  subject  to 
the  general  condition  that  they  are  carried  on,  not 
simply  in  the  interests  of  the  workers,  but  also  the 
whole  community.  Subject  to  this  condition  there 
will  also  be  room  for  a  considerable  amount  of  social- 
ised individualism,  if  the  establishments  are  co-ordi- 
nated with  a  wholesale  distributive  agency,  and  the 
workers  obtain  the  average  terms  of  their  trade. 

The  difference  of  opinion  on  these  points  extends 
even  to  the  treatment  of  the  workers  in  the  whole- 
sale and  retail  co-operative  establishments,  and  the 
method  of  disposing  of  the  profits  is  the  most  conten- 
tious subject  connected  with  the  co-operative  move- 
ment, and  is  discussed  with  considerable  vehemence 
at   co-operative   meetings.     In   fact,  in  co-operation, 


vii  CO-OPERATION 


147 


as  in  trade  unionism,  there  are  two  opposing  ten- 
dencies, one  in  the  direction  of  individualism  and 
the  other  in    the  direction  of   collectivism. 

The  individualists  say  that  without  a  share  of  the 
profits  there  is  no  stimulus  to  the  worker,  and  that 
co-operation  becomes  nothing  more  than  a  dreary, 
infinitesimal  drizzle  of  dividends.  On  the  other  hand, 
those  of  a  socialistic  or  collectivist  tendency  regard 
it  as  unfortunate  that  there  should  be  any  profit  at 
all,  and  any  occasion  to  wrangle  and  dispute  over  the 
method  of  its  distribution.  They  look  upon  profit 
on  cost  as  one  of  the  many  devices  which  human 
ingenuity  has  contrived  to  enable  one  section  to 
appropriate  the  wealth  produced  by  another,  and 
hold  that  it  should  have  no  place  in  a  well-ordered 
community.  Keeping  in  view  the  ideal  of  co-opera- 
tion, namely,  the  inauguration  of  a  better  and  wider 
distribution  of  wealth,  they  maintain  that  the  prob- 
lem to  be  solved  is  essentially  one  involved  in  the 
distribution,  and  not  in  the  production  of  wealth, 
and  that  what  is  needed  is  not  a  stimulus  to  the  pro- 
ductive, but  a  corrective  to  the  distributive  forces  of 
society.  While  willing,  therefore,  to  pay  to  capital 
a  living  wage,  and  to  the  workers  one  that  is  some- 
what above  that  current  in  competitive  works,  they 
hold  that  the  goods  should  be  sold  at  such  a  price 
that  there  will  be  no  profit.  If  there  be  any,  the 
dividends  at  the  stores  being  divided  among  the 
members  in  proportion  to  the  amounts  of  their  pur- 
chases, the  profits  both  of  production  and  of  distri- 
bution are  communised,  which  is  the  ideal  which 
they  think  ought  to  be  kept  in  view. 

The  methods  of  payment  of  dividends  on  purchases 


148  THE  EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

and  of  bonus  on  labour  may  seem  roundabout  methods 
of  raising  wages,  and  no  doubt  this  is  the  case.  It 
would  be  simpler  to  sell  at  cost  price  and  to  pay 
standard  wages,  and  when  co-operation  in  some 
shape  or  other  becomes  universal  this  will  be  so  ;  but 
taking  conditions  as  they  are,  the  methods  which  have 
been  suggested,  and  in  some  cases  carried  out,  not 
only  impress  the  advantages  of  co-operation  and 
profit-sharing  upon  the  workers,  but  also  give  an 
impulse  to  improvement  both  in  the  personal  charac- 
teristics of  the  workers  and  in  the  quality  and  quan- 
tity of  the  work  produced,  and  these  objects  should 
never  be  lost  sight  of. 

It  seems  to  me  that  for  a  considerable  time  there 
will  be  room  for  a  reasonable  compromise  on  the 
general  question  of  the  division  of  profits,  as  about 
other  questions  on  which  co-operators  are  divided, 
and  in  this  opinion  many  thoughtful  co-operators  are 
coming  to  agree.1  It  is  therefore  a  mistake  to  make 
this  question  too  prominent.  Of  much  more  impor- 
tance is  the  idea  of  co-partnership  and  of  control 
over  the  general  arrangements  of  the  work,  for  if 
these  be  assumed  the  general  conditions  will  be  to  a 
very  considerable  extent  what  the  workers  choose  to 
make  them. 

Whatever  may  be  the  ideal  kept  in  view,  there 
will  be  no  great  departure  from  it  if  a  moderate  share 
of  the  profits  or  a  small  bonus  on  labour  be  allotted  to 
the  workers,  until  at  least  the  movement  has  been 
consolidated.  The  amount  and  the  method  of  distribu- 
tion should  be  determined  by  the  conditions  of  each 

1  Cf.  Report  of  Committee  appointed  by  Scottish  Section  to  consider 
and  report  on  the  Question  of  Bonus  to  Labour,  1894. 


CO-OPERATION 


149 


department  interested,  and  should  be  fixed  by  a  body 
representing  all  concerned.  As  the  movement  ex- 
tends profits  will  tend  to  diminish,  and  will  ultimately 
disappear ;  and  if  the  educational  aspect  of  co-opera- 
tion be  attended  to,  the  social  ideals  of  the  workers 
will  have  so  much  improved  that  they  will  be  willing 
to  forego  personal  for  social  benefits.  Then  prices 
will  either  be  so  reduced  that  there  will  be  nothing 
in  the  shape  of  profit,  or  if  there  be  any  it  will  be 
used  for  public  purposes.  The  same  will  be  true  of 
capitalism  generally,  but  in  all  cases  the  progress 
must  be  gradual,  and  a  considerable  time  must 
elapse  before  the  ideal  is  realised.  In  the  meantime, 
however,  it  would  be  wrong  to  keep  the  mind  too 
steadfastly  fixed  upon  this  ideal,  and  neglect  the 
steps  which  make  its  realisation  possible.  It  should 
always  be  remembered  that  "the  union  of  capital 
and  labour  will  be  accomplished,  not  in  one  way, 
but  in  many  ways  ;  for  co-operation  is  not  so  much 
an  organisation  as  a  principle,  not  so  much  '  a  state 
within  a  state,'  as  a  spirit  which  quickens  and  moulds 
every  member  for  the  most  effective  service  of  the 
whole  body."1 . 

The  system  of  profit-sharing  is  considered  by  many 
to  be  one  of  the  ways  which  will  lead  to  complete 
co-operation.  The  name  "profit-sharing"  profit-shar- 
is  applied  to  a  variety  of  forms  of  industrial  \lf{^pl' 
remuneration.  By  a  resolution  passed  at  Schemes, 
the  International  Congress  held  in  Paris  in  1889, 
profit-sharing  was  declared  to  be  "  a  voluntary  agree- 
ment,  by  virtue   of   which  an  employee  receives   a 

1  Bishop  of  Durham,  The  Incarnation  and  the  Common  Life,  p.  253. 


150  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

share,  fixed  beforehand,  in  the  profits  "of  an  under- 
taking.1 

From  a  theoretical  point  of  view  the  various 
schemes  of  profit-sharing  in  ordinary  capitalistic  con- 
cerns are  open  to  the  same  kind  of  objections  as  are 
offered  to  the  sharing  of  profits  among  the  workers 
in  co-operative  undertakings.  Their  critics  say  that 
they  are  devices  adopted  by  middle-class  employers 
who  have  not  the  slightest  intention  of  ceding  the 
management  of  their  business  into  the  hands  of  their 
employees,  and  who  entertain  a  firm  conviction  that 
the  class  to  which  they  belong  is  anything  but  super- 
fluous. Their  object  is  alleged  to  be  simply  to 
advance  the  prosperity  of  their  undertakings  by 
allowing  their  employees  to  participate  in  their 
profits,  that  in  fact  they  create  a  number  of  small 
capitalists,  but  that  they  do  nothing  to  improve  the 
distribution  of  wealth. 

Mr.  Sedley  Taylor,  who  was  the  first  in  this  country 
to  direct  further  attention  to  the  subject,  has  said : 
"  Profit-sharing  in  a  private  firm  or  public  company 
is  a  system  which  aims  at  effecting  as  much  of  this 
change  of  relation  as  is  compatible  with  retaining  in 
unimpaired  efficiency  the  function  of  the  trained  en- 
trepreneur. It  would  therefore  appear  to  appeal,  not 
only  to  employers  who  are  willing  to  see  a  purely 
capitalistic  organisation  gradually  replaced  by  one  of 
a  completely  associative  character,  but  also  to  those 
who,  though  they  regard  the  entrepreneur  s  function 
as  permanent  and  indispensable,  are  prepared  for 
reforms    of    a   democratic   tendency   which    do    not 

1  Cf.  Report  by  D.  F.  Schloss  on  Profit-sharing,  Board  of  Trade 
(c— 7458),  1894. 


CO-OPERATION 


151 


menace  or  undermine  its  authority.  Thus,  enlight- 
ened and  unterrified  supporters  of  the  existing 
regime,  and  collectivists  of  all  shades  who  recognise 
systematic  training  of  the  working-classes  as  an 
essential  preliminary  to  the  realisation  of  their  plans, 
might  well  accept  profit-sharing  as  the  next  step, 
which  perhaps  is  all  that  is  definitely  within  the  ken 
of  any  but  our  youngest  and  least  disillusioned  social 
reformers."  1  A  moderate  share  in  the  profits  as  at 
present  understood,  which  would  at  least  recognise 
the  principle  and  be  sufficient  to  be  valued,  would 
not  only  be  a  step  in  the  direction  of  the  socialisation 
of  individualistic  enterprise,  but  would  also  build  up 
the  co-operative  movement  and  consolidate  the  eco- 
nomic position  of  the  members  without  inflicting 
much,  if  any,  harm  on  the  general  body  of  consumers. 
We  must  look  for  the  elimination  of  profit  to  the 
economic  forces  in  action,  and  to  that  general  move- 
ment, to  be  mentioned  later  on,  which  is  gradually 
socialising  property  of  all  kinds  by  the  development 
of  the  altruistic  spirit.  I  agree  with  Mr.  Benjamin 
Jones  when  he  says  that  both  as  to  the  method  of 
dividing  the  profits,  and  even  as  to  the  actual  division 
itself,  there  is  too  much  fuss  made.  He  attaches  far 
more  importance  to  "an  equitable  payment  for  the 
several  services  rendered  by  capitalists,  sellers,  buyers 
and  workpeople,"  and  he  thinks  that  the  best  practi- 
cal way  of  securing  this  is  "  by  having  every  opera- 
tion of  life,  outside  the  individual,  conducted  by 
means  of  democratic  associations,  in  which  every 
member  shall  be  trained  up  to  give  and  exact  justice, 

1  Introduction  to  Bushill's  Profit-sharing,  p.  8. 


152  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

and  will  be  educated  so  as  to  enable  him  to  ascertain 
what  it  is  that  justice  requires."  We  shall  see  farther 
on  that  with  a  spirit  such  as  this  permeating  the 
different  departments  of  industry,  we  would  before 
long  reach  a  state  of  society  in  which  all  industrial 
disputes  would  disappear.  The  only  complete  solvent 
for  such  disputes  is  therefore  a  system  of  education 
in  the  duties  of  Citizenship  which  would  not  only 
enable  every  member  of  the  community  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  his  duty,  but  inspired  with  a  determi- 
nation to  perform  it.  A  partial  solvent  would  be 
found  in  profit-sharing,  the  most  thoughtful  advocates 
of  which  do  not  put  it  forward  as  a  final  solution  of 
the  labour  question,  but  as  a  stage  on  the  road  towards 
co-operative  production.  If  this  were  remembered, 
some  of  the  criticisms  which  are  passed  on  it  would 
be  more  moderate  than  they  are,  for  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that,  if  the  proper  spirit  be  cultivated,  the 
system  may  be  useful  in  the  evolution  of  a  co-opera- 
tive organisation  of  industry. 

Among  profit-sharing  schemes,  probably  the  one 
which  represents  the  highest  state  of  development, 

The  both  as  regards  spirit  and  organisation,  is 
Famiiistare  the  Association  of  the  Familistere  at  Guise 

at  Guise. 

founded  by  the  late  M.  Godin.  In  addition 
to  the  purely  financial  aspects  of  the  work,  it  under- 
takes to  look  after  the  social  welfare  of  the  members 
and  of  those  connected  with  them. 

The  members  are  not  housed  in  separate  dwellings, 
but  in  a  vast  edifice  in  which,  while  full  advantage  is 
taken  of  the  possibilities  of  co-operation  and  mutual 
assistance,  each  family  has  as  much  privacy  as  it 
wishes.     The  first  object  of  the  association  is  to  give 


CO-OPERATION 


153 


to  the  workers  and  their  families  guarantees  for  their 
existence,  and  provision  is  also  made  out  of  the 
profits  of  the  establishment  for  cases  of  sickness  or 
accident  by  a  system  of  insurance.  The  second 
object  is  to  provide  pensions  for  those  who  have 
become  incapable  of  work.  After  fifteen  years'  ser- 
vice any  workman  or  employee  of  the  association  who 
finds  himself  unable  to  work  has  a  right  to  a  retiring 
allowance,  of  which  the  rate  is  fixed  by  the  statutes. 
Those  who  have  not  served  this  time  are  dealt  with 
by  the  committee  of  members  which  has  charge  of 
the  whole  arrangements. 

The  buildings  contain  all  the  conveniences  neces- 
sary in  a  collective  life,  such  as  a  school,  museum, 
library  and  recreation  and  gymnastic  rooms  of  various 
kinds,  in  addition  to  those  required  for  providing  the 
necessaries  of  life,  such  as  stores,  kitchens,  dining- 
rooms  and  laundries. 

The  workers  connected  with  the  association  par- 
ticipate in  its  profits,  both  commercial  and  industrial, 
and  the  division  takes  place  ratably,  according  to  the 
wages  and  salaries  earned  during  the  year,  and  an 
attempt  is  made  to  reward  each  one  according  to  the 
service  he  performs.  Capital  is  paid  a  moderate  rate 
of  interest.  But  before  any  division  is  made  the 
allowances  for  the  feeble  and  the  necessitous  are 
deducted.  Similarly  a  share  is  assigned  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  public  services  and  for  education, 
and  a  reserve  is  built  up  to  make  provision  against 
the  chances  —  social,  commercial  and  industrial  —  to 
which  both  individuals  and  institutions  are  liable. 
The  organic  or  socialistic  nature  of  human  obliga- 
tions is  thus  recognised  in  the  arrangements  of  the 
association. 


154  THE  EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  while  great  attention  is 
paid  to  the  social  and  economic  conditions  of  the 
members,  the  association  is  co-operative  in  a  very- 
limited  sense  only.  As  an  association,  indeed,  it  is 
individualistic,  and  if  its  products  were  not  so  special 
in  their  nature  —  namely,  the  apparatus  for  heating 
and  special  articles  of  furniture  —  it  might  even  tend 
to  make  the  general  competition  more  severe.  If, 
however,  similar  institutions  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  were  federated  and  affiliated  with  a  wholesale 
co-operative  society,  or  a  similar  organisation,  they 
would  not  only  be  able  to  carry  on  such  work  as  is 
done  at  Guise,  but  also  to  limit  competition  and  co-or- 
dinate supply  and  demand,  and  in  fact  meet  all  the 
requirements  of  a  co-operatively  organised  industry. 

From  a  comparison  of  the  methods  and  results  of 
Compari-  individual  industry  and  trade  and  those  of 
va"e°Trad-  co-operation,  the  advantages  of  the  latter  are 
Co-opera-  at  once  evident,  for  they  fulfil  the  conditions 
tion.  which  we  have  stated  to  be  necessary  for  the 

maximum  efficiency  of  any  industrial  organisation. 

The  ordinary  retail  shops  at  once  show  the  waste 
of  the  individualistic  system.  These  are  multiplied 
beyond  what  is  necessary,  and  there  is  not  sufficient 
business  to  support  them  all.  As  the  competition 
increases,  vast  sums  are  spent  on  advertising  and  on 
rents  for  the  most  advantageous  localities,  and  all 
sorts  of  adventitious  attractions  are  put  forth  to  allure 
customers.  Men  and  women  are  kept  from  early 
morning  till  late  at  night  waiting  on  trade  which 
comes  in  driblets.  Life  becomes  harder  and  harder 
with  those  responsible  for  the  business,  and  not  a  few 
of  them  land  in  the  Bankruptcy  Court.     Even  when 


CO-OPERATION 


155 


they  succeed  in  making  money,  the  accompanying 
struggles  and  petty  cares  make  all  human  life  practi- 
cally impossible. 

In  the  co-operative  stores,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
is  no  advertising  or  other  methods  of  attracting  cus- 
tomers except  the  quality  and  the  price  of  the  goods, 
and  there  is  at  least  an  attempt  to  place  them  in 
suitable  centres  of  supply,  which  are  not  necessarily 
in  expensive  or  fashionable  localities,  and  to  engage  a 
staff  sufficient  to  perform  the  work  in  an  efficient 
manner.  Some  of  the  arrangements,  no  doubt,  are 
often  defective,  but  they  are  all  in  the  right  direction, 
and  the  societies  only  require  more  support  to  enable 
them  to  meet  all  reasonable  demands.  The  saving  of 
expense  of  distribution  in  co-operation  as  compared 
with  private  trading  has  been  stated  to  be  in  some 
cases  about  25  per  cent  on  the  price  of  the  goods. 
Moreover,  the  new  spirit,  which  is  the  most  necessary 
factor  in  modern  trade  and  industry,  has  been  intro- 
duced, and  part  of  the  money  saved  is  spent  in  pro- 
moting the  intellectual  and  social  welfare  of  the 
members. 

During  the  process  of  evolution,  no  doubt,  a  certain 
amount  of  hardship  will  be  inflicted  on  the  large  class 
of  retail  dealers,  but  the  process  will  be  so  slow  that 
they  will  have  time  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  altered 
conditions.  The  best  of  them  would  obtain  positions 
in  the  co-operative  organisations,  which  they  would 
find  more  secure  and  more  conducive  to  happiness 
and  welfare  than  those  that  they  at  present  occupy, 
involving  as  they  very  often  do  a  hand-to-mouth  life 
which  keeps  them  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy. 

The  tendency  of  the  movement  will  be  to  cause  a 


156  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

gradual  improvement  in  the  arrangements  of  the  retail 
shops  and  in  the  quality  of  their  goods,  and  for  many 
a  day  those  which  keep  up  with  the  requirements  of 
the  times  will  be  able  to  hold  their  own.  As  Mr. 
Holyoake  has  remarked :  "  The  shopkeeper  has  always 
opposed  co-operation ;  yet  he  is  not  in  the  danger  he 
imagines.  Good  shops  are  inextinguishable.  No  store 
of  the  London  or  Rochdale  kind  has  shown  genius  in 
shopkeeping.  The  thought  and  consideration,  the 
judgment  and  skill,  the  personal  knowledge  of  the 
needs  and  tastes  of  purchasers,  are  impossible  to 
stores.  Stores  are  like  public  schools  ;  a  shop  is  like 
a  private  tutor,  with  a  limited  number  of  pupils  to 
whom  he  individually  attends.  Co-operation  may 
supersede  needless  and  inferior  shops;  but  this  they 
are  doing  themselves,  as  Shoolbred,  Heal,  Maple, 
Snelgrove,  Whiteley,  and  that  class  of  shopkeepers 
are.  .  .  .  Professionally,  the  shopkeeper's  case  is 
better  than  he  imagines.  He  is  afraid,  without  fore- 
sight, of  co-operators.  His  enemies  are  those  of  his 
own  household  in  the  trade.  He  can  hold  his  own 
with  a  little  wit  and  a  little  judgment.  Shopkeepers 
of  special  knowledge  and  skill  will  never  be  extin- 
guished by  co-operation,  any  more  than  the  Quentin 
Matsys  and  the  Benvenuto  Cellinis  of  art  will  be  ex- 
tinguished by  machinery."1  It  is  evident  that  even 
with  a  considerable  extension  of  co-operative  action 
in  its  various  forms  there  will  be  room  for  a  great  deal 
of  individual  enterprise. 

The  traders  should  recognise  that  co-operation  of 
some  kind  is  the  only  alternative  to  the  monopoly  of 

1  The  Co-operative  Movement  of  To-day,  p.  97. 


vii  CO-OPERATION  157 

large  individualistic  concerns  which  are  pushing  them 
harder  than  the  co-operative  undertakings;  for,  as  I 
have  remarked,  the  movement  towards  aggregation 
and  monopoly  applies  to  every  department  of  trade 
and  industry.  On  the  other  hand,  the  public  should 
recognise  that  they  have  to  choose  between  monopo- 
lies which  chiefly  enrich  a  few  individuals,  and  organi- 
sations which  help  towards  a  more  equable  distribution 
of  wealth  and  an  improvement  in  the  general  conditions 
of  labour. 

As  I  have  indicated  that  it  is  possible  and  desirable 
to  federate  the  independent  workshops  and  affiliate 
them  with  the  wholesale  co-operative  society,  so  it  is 
not  beyond  the  range  of  imagination  to  suppose  an 
improved  social  spirit  which  would  .cause  a  great  im- 
provement both  in  the  financial  and  the  social  condi- 
tions of  the  private  establishments,  and  enable  them 
to  approximate  to  the  ideals  and  methods  of  co-opera- 
tion. We  would  thus  have  a  socialised  individualism 
which  would  retain  all  the  good  qualities  of  individu- 
alism and  add  those  of  co-operation.  In  all  arrange- 
ments made  for  industrial  organisation  we  must  take 
care  that  as  much  freedom  as  is  possible  is  given  to 
individuals  for  the  exercise  both  of  energy  and  inge- 
nuity, for  without  this  they  are  likely  to  degenerate 
into  dull  mechanical  routine. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  What  are  the  relations 
of  trade  unionism  and  co-operation,  and  how  far  do 
they  tend  to  promote  a  common  end  ?     The  Re]ations 
simplest  reply  to  that  question  is,  that  they  of  Trade 
are  supplementary  the   one   to   the   other,   andCo-op- 
and  that  both  are  therefore  necessary  in  the 
organisation  of  industry.     Trade  unionism  does  not 


158  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

propose  to  make  any  radical  change  in  the  present 
methods  of  organisation ;  it  simply  endeavours  to 
obtain  for  its  members  the  best  possible  terms  regard- 
ing wages  and  the  like,  and  generally  to  regulate  the 
conditions  of  the  trades  concerned.  The  wisdom  of 
some  of  the  methods  which  are  adopted  may  be  ques- 
tioned, but  there  can  be  little  conflict  as  to  the  object 
in  view,  namely,  the  bettering  of  the  economic  condi- 
tions of  the  workers.  This,  however,  is  also  the  object 
of  co-operation,  and  it  endeavours  to  attain  it  partly 
by  direct  means,  such  as  higher  wages  and  improved 
conditions  of  work,  partly  by  indirect  means,  such  as 
the  dividends  paid  on  the  amounts  of  purchases  and 
on  the  capital  invested  in  the  stores  and  works.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  however,  it  is  found  that  the  majority 
of  undertakings,  in  so  far  as  the  great  body  of  the 
workers  is  concerned,  are  conducted  on  ordinary  com- 
mercial lines,  although  it  must  be  admitted  on  a  some- 
what higher  plane  than  ordinary  establishments ;  and 
therefore  trade  unions  are  required  to  adjust  the  claims 
of  the  different  groups  of  workers,  for  no  provision  is 
made  in  the  management  of  the  works  for  these  being 
settled  in  any  other  way.  Even  with  a  much  more 
perfect  system  of  co-operation  than  is  likely  to  be  in 
existence  for  many  a  day,  trade  unions,  or  something 
like  them,  will  be  necessary  to  adjust  the  claims  of 
the  different  classes  of  workers,  for  differences  in  the 
skill  required,  and  generally  in  the  nature  of  the  work, 
must  cause  differences  in  the  rate  of  remuneration. 
We  are  still  a  long  way  from  the  time  when  all  will  be 
paid  alike,  without  regard  either  to  skill  or  other  con- 
ditions, and  any  proposals  which  ignore  that  fact  are 
in  the  clouds,  and  not  likely  to  lead  to  useful  results. 


vn  CO-OPERATION 


159 


Mrs.  Sydney  Webb  has  expressed  the  position  very 
well  by  saying  that  "  the  proper  relationship  of  trade 
unionism  and  co-operation  is  that  of  an  ideal  marriage, 
in  which  each  partner  respects  the  individuality  and 
assists  the  work  of  the  other,  whilst  both  cordially 
join  forces  to  secure  their  common  end — the  Co- 
operative State."  The  identity  of  the  objects  aimed 
at  by  trade  unionism  and  co-operation,  although  for- 
merly ignored  by  both  parties,  is  now  beginning  to  be 
recognised,  but,  it  must  be  admitted,  in  many  cases  it 
is  still  in  a  very  half-hearted  manner.  Even  yet  many 
trade  unionists  and  the  majority  of  socialists  denounce, 
or  at  least  minimise,  the  results  of  both  co-operation 
and  profit-sharing ;  and  fail  to  see  that  the  chief  hin- 
drances to  their  own  proposals  lie  in  the  mental  and 
moral  unfitness  of  all  classes  of  the  community  for 
anything  approaching  a  socialistic  rigime ;  and  they 
discourage  the  only  practical  systems  which  are  fitted 
to  produce  the  needed  capacity,  and  to  assist  in  the 
evolution  of  a  state  of  society  in  which  the  highest 
ideals  of  all  social  reformers  would  be  fully  realised, 
and  in  which  it  would  be  found  that  trade  unionism 
and  co-operation  are  both  necessary. 

The  most  striking  result  of  the  co-operative  move- 
ment is  the  extent  of  the  operations  which  are  con- 
ducted by  it.     The  progress  made  from  year    Resuks  of 

to  vear  may  be  seen  from  an  inspection  of    Co-opera- 

r    *    *.  tion- 

the  figures  published  in  the  Annual  of  the 

Wholesale   Co-operative  Societies,  and  to  these  we 

must  refer  for  details.     The  more  important  figures 

for  the  whole  of  the  United  Kingdom  in  the  year  1892 

were  as  follows  :  — 


l60  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

Societies  (making  returns)            .         .  l,79l 

Members             1,284,843 

Capital  (share  and  loan)      .         .         .  £18,421,323 

Sales £51,060,854 

Profits £4,743.352 

Profits  devoted  to  Education        .         .  £32>753 

These  figures  amply  justify  the  opinions  expressed 
by  Sir  John  Gorst  in  his  Rectorial  Address  at  Glas- 
gow University.1  After  pointing  out  that  the  co- 
operative movement,  full  of  such  immense  possibilities 
in  the  future  to  the  working-classes,  is  an  object  of 
careful  and  anxious  study  in  the  University  Settle- 
ments, he  said:  "In  Great  Britain  co-operative  distri- 
bution is  now  established.  Its  operations  are  already 
great,  its  progress  is  rapid,  its  ultimate  triumph  is 
only  a  question  of  time.  The  problem  of  the  day  is 
how  the  enormous  power  of  the  English  and  Scottish 
Co-operative  Wholesale  Societies,  as  the  greatest  pur- 
chasers in  the  United  Kingdom,  can  be  used  in  pro- 
moting the  welfare  of  the  producers."  With  regard 
to  co-operative  productive  societies  he  remarked 
"that  they  have  in  most  cases  languished  hitherto, 
partly  from  inefficient  management,  but  chiefly  from 
the  difficulty,  amidst  the  keen  commercial  competition 
of  the  day,  of  finding  a  market  for  their  produce.  If 
the  productive  societies  worked  for  orders  from  the 
wholesale,  the  latter  difficulty  would  be  annihilated." 
These  opinions,  coming  from  a  man  who  is  a  careful 
student  of  social  subjects  and  an  unbiassed  judge  of 
co-operation,  are  a  recognition  of  past  efforts  and 
should  be  an  incentive  to  future  exertions  and  new 
developments. 

1  November  1894. 


vii  CO-OPERATION  ^i 

The  economic  results  of  the  co-operative  move- 
ment are  very  important.  Of  these  the  most  appar- 
ent are  the  reduction  in  working  expenses  by  the 
saving  of  the  charges  of  the  capitalist,  the  more  effi- 
cient employment  of  the  time  of  the  workers,  and  the 
saving  of  expenditure  on  advertising  and  in  other 
ways. 

Like  every  other  evolutionary  movement,  it  begins 
in  a  small  way.  At  first  it  usually  takes  in  hand  the 
requirements  of  a  small  district  as  regards  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  but  it  gradually  extends,  and  by  a  federa- 
tion of  societies,  wholesale  and  retail,  it  may  ultimately 
include  a  great  part  of  the  trade  of  the  country.  No 
doubt  some  of  the  more  common  wants  of  the  peo- 
ple will  be  met  by  Municipal,  and  others  by  State 
arrangements,  in  the  manner  which  will  be  explained 
in  the  next  two  chapters;  but  the  economic  results  in 
all  cases  will  be  the  same,  for  the  savings  effected  by 
the  arrangements  will  be  communised  and  be  used 
by  the  whole  community.  By  the  co-ordination  of 
supply  and  demand  the  workers  will  be  able  to  secure 
steady  employment,  while,  by  the  saving  of  waste  and 
friction,  good  wages  will  be  possible.  The  control  of 
the  people  will  cause  goods  of  a  superior  quality  to  be 
supplied,  and  the  welfare  of  the  community  to  be 
always  kept  in  mind.  When  the  movement  becomes 
general,  the  economic  conditions  of  the  great  body  of 
the  people  will  be  much  improved  by  the  more  equi- 
table distribution  of  the  products  of  industry,  and  it 
will  thus  be  possible  for  the  workers  to  have  shorter 
hours  of  labour  than  at  present,  and  consequently 
increased  opportunities  for  mental  and  social  enjoy- 
ment. 


1 62  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

The  educational  training  given  by  co-operation  is 
one  of  its  most  important  features.  Wages  may  rise 
and  fall,  and  dividends  may  fluctuate  or  disappear, 
but  the  educational  effect  of  co-operation  carried  on 
in  a  proper  spirit  remains  on  the  characters  of  the 
members,  and  no  one  can  be  a  good  co-operator 
without  at  the  same  time  possessing  many  of  the 
qualities  which  go  to  make  a  good  citizen.  Professor 
Fawcett  rightly  declared  that  "co-operation  cannot 
succeed  without  calling  forth  many  of  the  highest 
qualities  of  man's  intellectual  and  moral  nature."  A 
share  in  the  management  of  a  business,  however 
small,  may  be  a  more  useful  education  than  any  ob- 
tained at  school  or  college,  and  if  it  be  carried  on 
with  equity  and  truth,  it  may  prove  a  most  effective 
moral  training.  Co-operation  should  therefore  be 
recognised  not  merely  as  a  maker  of  dividends,  but 
as  a  maker  of  men,  men  imbued  with  the  principles 
of  justice  and  equity,  and  with  high  ideals  of  the 
ultimate  objects  of  the  movement  in  which  they  are 
interested ;  for  if  it  becomes  mere  organised  self- 
seeking,  it  may,  while  it  leads  to  increased  cheapness 
in  distribution,  at  the  same  time  cause  increased 
suffering  among  producers. 

Co-operators  have,  moreover,  always  taken  a  very 
considerable  interest  in  ordinary  educational  move- 
ments, especially  in  those  which  have  a  direct  bearing 
on  the  welfare  of  the  workers.  Many  of  the  indi- 
vidual societies  have  done  much  to  advance  general 
and  technical  education,  although  the  number  is  not 
so  large  as  it  ought  to  be.  The  average  member  fails 
to  recognise  the  importance  of  the  educational  aspects 
of  the  movement  in  which  he  is   engaged.     He   is 


vii  CO-OPERATION  ^3 

alarmed  at  what  sounds  to  him  "unbusiness-like  and 
sentimental";1  he  is  half  afraid  it  may  injure  the 
society.  It  rests  with  individual  co-operators  to  show 
by  practical  demonstrations,  which  need  not  cost 
money,  by  social  meetings,  with  papers  read  and  dis- 
cussion to  follow,  by  classes  in  co-operative  education, 
and  the  like,  that  the  exact  opposite  is  true,  that 
education  is,  as  Professor  Stuart  says,  "the  life's 
necessity  for  Co-operators.  .  .  .  Gradually  the  older 
leaders,  through  whose  enthusiasm  the  movement  has 
been  made  what  it  is,  are  passing  away.  They  got 
their  strength,  their  education  and  their  enthusiasm 
too,  to  some  extent  from  the  difficulties  they  had  to 
struggle  with  and  conquer —  difficulties  which  we  of 
the  younger  generation  cannot  adequately  picture  to 
ourselves  at  all.  A  similar  strength,  enthusiasm  and 
capacity  will  certainly  not  be  forthcoming,  either  in 
the  present  or  the  future,  to  guide  co-operators  in  the 
right  direction,  and  to  create  a  really  healthy  public 
opinion  in  the  co-operative  body,  unless  some  very 
earnest  educational  work  is  done."  That  work  must 
not  be  confined  to  the  mere  technical  details  of  busi- 
ness, but  must  enlarge  the  ideas  of  the  students  and 
enable  them  to  understand  the  more  general  move- 
ments in  the  world  and  the  position  which  they  as 
co-operators  hold  in  them.  It  must  furnish  them 
with  the  laws  of  personal  and  social  development,  and 
fit  them,  not  only  to  perform  their  daily  work  in  a 
satisfactory  manner,  but  also  to  take  a  fair  share  of 
the  duties  of  citizenship. 

As  co-operators  their  special  duty  is  to  do  all  in 

1  Acland  and  Jones,   Working  Men  Co-operators,  p.  126. 


1 64  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

their  power  to  advance  the  movement  and  to  improve 
the  conditions  of  the  workers  and  the  relations  of 
capital  and  labour.  As  workers  they  should  insist 
not  merely  on  obtaining  a  fair  return  for  their  work, 
but  also  that  it  be  performed  under  proper  conditions, 
and  that  its  quality  be  the  best  possible.  As  con- 
sumers they  should  endeavour  as  far  as  possible  to 
purchase  goods  which  have  been  produced  co-opera- 
tively, and  above  all,  assure  themselves  that  the  con- 
ditions on  which  they  themselves  insist  should  also 
be  available  for  those  who  produce  for  their  require- 
ments. Moreover,  they  should  encourage  those  forms 
of  distribution  which  bring  the  producers  and  the 
consumers  into  close  contact,  so  that  both  time  and 
money  may  be  economised,  and  satisfactory  relations 
established  between  the  various  parties  concerned. 
It  is  only  by  this  extension  of  the  feeling  of  personal 
responsibility  that  we  can  hope  for  any  real  improve- 
ment in  social  conditions. 

Many  of  the  educational  movements  hitherto  en- 
couraged by  co-operators,  such  as  libraries,  news- 
rooms, and  science  and  other  classes  are  gradually 
being  taken  up  by  public  bodies.  But  there  is  still 
scope  for  co-operators  educating  public  opinion  in 
matters  relating  to  industrial  and  social  welfare,  and 
especially  regarding  the  place  which  co-operation 
should  take  in  social  evolution.  Recently  some  at- 
tention has  been  paid  to  the  subject  of  "The  Life 
and  Duties  of  the  Citizen,"  which  has  been  intro- 
duced into  the  Code  for  Continuation  Evening  Classes, 
and  the  more  advanced  and  special  parts  of  this  afford 
scope  to  co-operators  for  educational  activity,  for  not 
only  could  the  ideas  of  co-operation  be  taught,  but 


vii  CO-OPERATION 


165 


also  a  very  complete  course  of  social  and  economic 
subjects  generally.  It  must  always  be  recognised 
that  co-operation,  whatever  shape  it  may  take,  is  only 
partially  realised  so  long  as  it  is  not  organised  in  the 
interests  of  the  whole  community. 

In  this  as  in  other  departments  of  the  work  there 
has  been  a  considerable  amount  of  co-ordination,  and 
that  chiefly  through  the  agency  of  the  Co-operative 
Union.  This  union  is  an  institution  charged  with 
the  duty  of  keeping  alive  and  diffusing  a  knowledge 
of  the  principles  which  form  the  life  of  the  co-opera- 
tive movement,  and  giving  to  its  active  members,  by 
advice  and  instruction  —  literary,  legal  or  commercial 
—  the  help  they  may  require,  that  they  may  be  better 
able  to  discharge  the  important  work  they  have  to  do. 

The  Co-operative  News,  a.  weekly  journal  carried  on 
by  a  special  company  as  an  organ  of  associated  indus- 
try, is  a  most  useful  and  influential  factor  in  the  co- 
operative movement,  and  serves  both  as  a  newspaper 
giving  information  regarding  its  progress,  and  as  an 
educational  and  literary  journal  in  which  subjects 
relating  to  social  and  industrial  organisation  are  freely 
discussed  from  different  points  of  view.  After  pay- 
ment of  a  moderate  rate  of  interest  on  the  capital 
invested,  all  the  profits  are  added  to  reserve  or  used 
in  improving  the  newspaper.  The  Annual  of  the 
Wholesale  Societies  is  another  very  important  publi- 
cation, which  contains  statistics  of  the  progress  made 
from  year  to  year  and  papers  by  well-known  writers 
on  subjects  of  interest  to  co-operators.  There  are 
many  other  schemes  in  connection  with  the  move- 
ment, but  for  details  of  these  we  must  refer  to  these 
and  other  similar  publications. 


1 66  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

It  follows,  of  course,  that  improved  social  condi- 
tions would  at  once  result  from  improved  economic 
conditions  and  extended  educational  opportunities, 
for  if  the  true  co-operative  spirit  be  kept  up,  the  wel- 
fare of  the  workers  and  of  the  community  will  always 
be  the  chief  objects  kept  in  view.  The  spirit  of 
co-operation  is  opposed  to  "sweating"  in  every  form, 
and  this  is  being  infused  into  industrial  affairs  gener- 
ally, and  bringing  about  a  sense  of  the  common  good. 
It  encourages  sympathy  with  public  aims  and  a  desire 
for  the  welfare  of  the  community  generally.  The 
fraternal  spirit  should  lead  to  improved  opportunities 
for  social  enjoyment  and  recreation.  Co-operation 
should  lead  the  way  in  these  matters,  and  indicate  to 
municipalities  some  of  the  possibilities  of  rational 
communised  enjoyment  and  the  cultivation  of  the 
social  virtues.  Their  education  should  therefore  not 
simply  be  of  the  head  but  also  of  the  heart. 

The  position  which  the  movement  gives  to  women, 
allowing  them  as  it  does  equal  voting  power  with 
men,  ought  to  have  good  social  results.  Moreover, 
the  Women's  Guild  or  League  for  the  Spread  of  Co- 
operation affords  them  the  opportunity  of  taking  an 
active  part  in  propagating  the  principles  of  co-opera- 
tion, and  in  making  their  influence  felt  in  many  social 
movements,  and  especially  those  for  the  improvement 
of  the  social  and  economic  conditions  of  their  own  sex. 

Mr.  James  Deans,  one  of  the  most  active  members 
of  the  co-operative  movement,  has  said :  "  By  its 
capacity  and  tendency  to  bring  about  a  much  wider 
diffusion  of  the  wealth  of  the  country  it  will  yet 
render  totally  unnecessary  the  wretched  poverty  and 
misery  that  fill  the  streets  of  our  towns  and  cities. 


CO-OPERATION 


167 


By  its  building  departments  it  has  already  done  much, 
but  will  yet  do  a  vast  deal  more,  to  improve  the 
housing  of  the  poor.  By  its  productive  phase,  which 
as  yet  is  but  very  imperfectly  developed,  it  will  in 
some  form  or  other  lead  to  the  self-employment  of 
the  workers,  and  thereby  solve  the  great  labour 
problem,  and  put  an  end  to  those  terrible  labour 
conflicts  that  are  so  damaging  to  the  trade  and  sta- 
bility of  the  country,  and  do  so  much  to  embitter 
class  hatreds.  By  its  seaside  homes  and  similar 
institutions  it  will  do  much  to  relieve  and  reduce  the 
physical  disease  and  suffering  that  darken  so  many 
lives  and  homes.  But  much  of  the  success  or  failure 
of  the  movement  in  the  realisation  of  its  ideals  de- 
pends upon  the  spirit  and  attitude  assumed  by  its 
thinkers  and  leaders.  The  success  of  the  movement 
demands  a  high  moral  culture  on  their  part ;  they 
must  banish  from  within  its  borders  every  manner 
and  species  of  intrigue,  prejudice,  jealousy,  malice 
and  unworthy  ambition ;  there  must  be  an  unlimited 
display  of  enthusiasm  and  self-sacrifice,  labouring  to 
establish  a  brotherhood,  they  must  act  toward  each 
other  as  brothers.  If  such  be  the  attitude  assumed, 
the  onward  progress  of  the  movement  will  be  irre- 
sistible, and  its  beneficial  effects  unbounded  in  their 
extent." 

In  the  earlier  part  of  this  chapter  I  quoted  some 
of  the  ideals  of  the  Bishop  of  Durham  regarding 
co-operation.  I  cannot  better  conclude  it  than  by 
allowing  him  to  explain  the  position  which  the  move- 
ment takes  in  his  philosophy  of  life  and  in  his 
religion.  He  says :  "  I  have  dared  to  express  great 
aspirations,  because  I  believe  more  confidently  as  the 


1 68  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap,  vn 

years  go  on  that  men  are  moved  by  lofty  motives. 
For  me,  co-operation  rests  upon  my  faith.  It  is  the 
active  expression,  in  terms  of  our  present  English 
life,  of  the  articles  of  my  creed.  Viewed  in  the  light 
of  the  facts  which  I  hold  to  be  the  central  facts  in 
history,  I  recognise  in  it  an  inherent  tendency  to 
complete  man,  to  guard  the  family,  to  unite  the  State, 
to  harmonise  nations.  It  is,  as  I  regard  it  —  and  you 
will  allow  me  to  speak  out  my  whole  heart  —  man's 
spontaneous  welcome  given  to  the  promises  of  God. 
It  is  a  proof  on  the  scene  of  our  working  world  that 
the  Gospel  is  not  an  illusion,  but  an  ideal  brought 
into  the  homes  of  men.  It  is  —  may  I  say  it  ?  —  a 
special  call  to  England ;  for,  as  we  have  been  re- 
minded by  one  (Professor  Marshall)  who  two  years 
ago  was  your  president,  England  led  the  way  in  the 
industrial  evolution  of  modern  Europe  by  free  and 
self-determined  energy  and  will.  It  is,  then,  for  Eng- 
land to  overcome  the  secondary  evils  which  have 
arisen  in  this  period  of  transition  by  a  fresh  exertion 
of  the  same  national  characteristics."  1 

1  The  Incarnation  and  the  Common  Life,  p.  253. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

MUNICIPAL    CONTROL 

All  the  conditions  which  I  have  mentioned  at  the 
beginning  of  the  preceding  chapter  as  essential  to 
co-operation,  as  usually  understood,  may  be  introduc- 
fully  met  in  a  somewhat  different  form  when  tory* 
an  organised  community  undertakes  the  management 
or  the  control  of  any  of  the  works  which  are  neces- 
sary for  supplying  its  members  with  any  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  or  with  the  means  of  instruction, 
recreation  and  enjoyment.  The  Town  and  County 
Councils  then  take  the  place  of  the  Committees  of 
the  Wholesale  Co-operative  Societies,  and  they  differ 
solely  in  the  employment  of  legal  machinery  which 
is  under  the  direct  control  of  the  community,  a  dif- 
ference which  is  justified  by  the  nature  of  the  com- 
modities provided,  and  by  the  general  demand  there 
is  for  them.  These  as  a  rule  are  of  a  simple  and 
uniform  nature,  the  quality  of  which  can  be  easily 
tested,  and  about  which  there  is  likely  to  be  little 
difference  of  opinion,  such,  for  instance,  as  water, 
gas  and  electric  light.  Moreover,  from  their  nature 
it  is  highly  desirable  that  they  should  be  monopolies, 
for  it  would  not  only  be  very  inconvenient  but  waste- 
ful and  absurd  to  have  our  streets  invaded  by  com- 
panies which  claimed  the  right  of  free  competition. 
The  same  is  true  of  means  of  transit,  at  least  when 

169 


170  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

the  conveyances  are  run  on  special  lines  of  rails, 
as  the  streets  are  made,  not  for  the  purpose  of 
affording  the  means  of  making  profit  to  individuals 
or  companies,  but  for  the  convenience  of  the  public 
generally.  Public  parks,  galleries,  museums  and  in- 
stitutions of  many  kinds,  in  all  ages,  in  ancient 
Greece  and  Imperial  Rome,  as  well  as  in  modern 
Britain,  have  always  been  managed  by  the  responsible 
local  authorities.  What  is  usually  called  Municipal 
Socialism  is  therefore  neither  new  in  spirit  nor  in 
method,  but  is  simply  a  development  of  what  has 
always  been  done  in  every  community  having  any 
claim  to  be  considered  civilised.  Any  attempt  at  a 
highly  centralised  system  of  management  by  the 
State  would  lead  to  utter  failure,  as  it  would  break 
down  through  its  own  weight  and  from  the  impossi- 
bility of  effective  control. 

It  is  difficult  to  point  to  the  time  when  municipal 
control  or  its  equivalent  began  in  Britain,  for  much 
of  the  legislation  and  many  of  the  customs 
mentof  from  a  very  early  date  have  had  for  their 
Control  objects  the  control  of  industry  and  the  im- 
agement1      provement  of  social  conditions. 

Its  modern  aspects,  however,  may  be  said 
to  have  begun  at  the  passing  of  the  Reform  Act  of 
1832,  by  which  the  great  body  of  the  middle  classes 
was  enfranchised,  and  which  enabled  them  to  de- 
mand a  considerable  amount  of  local  self-government. 
Towns,  burghs  and  counties  were  gradually  empow- 
ered to  undertake  works  of  various  kinds,  all  of  which 
had  till  that  time  been  left  entirely  to  private  enter- 
prise. Local  Improvement  Acts  were  passed  which 
conferred  large  powers  on  the  various  bodies,  espe- 


MUNICIPAL  CONTROL 


171 


cially  in  matters  relating  to  sanitation.  All  these 
enactments  are  of  a  socialistic  nature,  for  they  place 
restrictions  on  the  use  of  private  property,  and  the 
rights  of  ownership  are  much  curtailed  in  the  public 
interest.  In  fact  all  local  rates  have  the  same  ten- 
dency, for  they  fall  much  more  heavily  upon  property 
and  on  the  incomes  generally  of  the  well-to-do  classes 
than  upon  the  poor,  thus  helping  to  equalise  the 
distribution  of  wealth  and  forcing  a  practical  recog- 
nition of  the  fact  that  the  community  is  a  social 
organism,  no  member  of  which  can  live  by  himself, 
and  that  all  should  contribute  according  to  their 
means  and  their  advantages  to  the  welfare  of  the 
whole.  All  this,  however,  is  being  done  in  a  some- 
what blind,  unconscious  manner,  and  few  even  among 
those  who  are  taking  an  active  part  in  social  reforms 
recognise  that  many  of  the  local  rates  are  really 
forms  of  the  municipalisation  of  rent,  in  fact  are  steps 
towards  the  nationalisation  of  land,  a  phrase  which 
is  apt  to  be  looked  upon  with  horror  by  the  average 
respectable  citizen.  If  the  present  tendencies  con- 
tinue, the  process  will  be  completed  before  he  is 
conscious  of  it.  The  more  general  legislation  re- 
lating to  sanitation  will  be  briefly  noticed  in  the  next 
chapter  under  "  State  Control,"  in  which  it  will  be 
observed  that  the  same  tendencies  are  more  pro- 
nounced, although  in  many  cases  it  is  difficult  to 
draw  the  line  between  municipal  and  State  control. 
The  improvements  which  took  place  in  the  towns, 
both  in  buildings  and  streets,  naturally  led  to  a  de- 
mand for  a  good  supply  of  gas  and  water,  and  these 
two  necessaries  are  now  generally  furnished  by  local 
authorities.     The  most  marked  exception  is  the  case 


172  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

of  London.  That  is  easily  explained  by  the  slow 
growth  of  civic  spirit  in  that  huge  wilderness  of 
houses  and  of  individualistic  interests.  A  large  pro- 
portion of  the  population  are  not  productive  workers, 
but  either  parasites  or  dependants  who  seem  to  im- 
agine that  the  existence  of  the  world  rests  on  the 
maintenance  of  the  state  of  things  to  which  they  have 
been  accustomed. 

Improved  sanitary  conditions  and  good  supplies  of 
gas  and  water  in  their  turn  occasioned  demands  for 
improved  opportunities  for  enjoyment,  recreation  and 
instruction,  and  these  have  been  met  by  the  authori- 
ties providing  parks,  galleries,  museums  and  other 
institutions  of  a  similar  kind,  all  of  which  now  form 
part  of  the  organisation  of  nearly  every  large  town. 
These  again  have  led  to  improved  facilities  in  travel- 
ling, and  in  addition  to  the  numerous  opportunities 
now  afforded  by  the  railway  companies,  many  of  the 
corporations  have  taken  over  the  tramways,  and  work 
them  in  the  interests  of  the  whole  community. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  indications  of  the 
spirit  of  the  times  is  the  determination  of  local  authori- 
ties to  take  the  lead  in  maintaining  the  rate  of  wages 
of  their  employees,  and  even  of  those  indirectly  en- 
gaged by  them.  Many  of  them  have  adopted  and 
put  into  practice  the  fair-wage  resolution,  or  modifica- 
tions of  it,  which  is  the  basis  of  the  London  County 
Council's  labour  policy,  for  London  is  at  last  being 
awakened,  more  especially  regarding  matters  affect- 
ing labour  and  social  conditions.  We  will  consider 
some  of  the  results  of  a  policy  of  this  nature  in  a 
future  chapter,  and  in  the  meantime  simply  note  it  as 
a  fact  in  the  labour  movement  of  the  day. 


MUNICIPAL  CONTROL 


173 


Recently  the  problem  of  the  "  housing  of  the  poor  " 
has  been  taken  up  by  the  local  authorities,  and  many 
of  them  are  now  providing  model  dwellings  and 
lodging-houses,  and  their  influence  is  being  felt  in  all 
the  inferior  property  in  the  neighbourhood,  for  when 
corporations  lead  the  way  in  improvements,  it  is  im- 
possible for  private  individuals  to  lag  behind.  More- 
over, power  has  now  been  given  to  the  local 
authorities  to  shut  up  dwellings  which  are  unfit  for 
human  habitation.  The  arranging  of  work  for  the 
unemployed  is  beginning  to  receive  attention,  and 
there  is  little  doubt  that  in  the  near  future  arrange- 
ments will  be  made  which  will  enable  every  able- 
bodied  man  to  earn  at  least  sufficient  to  maintain 
himself.  In  short,  municipalities  have  had  forced 
upon  them  the  problem,  How  best  to  advance  the 
welfare  of  the  whole  community  placed  under  their 
charge. 

By  a  process  of  experiment  that  problem  is  gradually 
being  solved.  As  Mr.  Chamberlain  has  pointed  out : 
"  The  leading  idea  of  the  English  system  of  municipal 
government  may  be  said  to  be  that  of  a  joint-stock  or 
co-operative  enterprise  in  which  every  citizen  is  a 
shareholder,  and  of  which  the  dividends  are  receivable 
in  the  improved  health  and  the  increase  in  the  com- 
fort and  happiness  of  the  community.  The  members 
of  the  Council  are  the  directors  of  this  great  business, 
and  their  fees  consist  in  the  confidence,  the  considera- 
tion and  the  gratitude  of  those  amongst  whom  they 
live.  In  no  other  undertaking,  whether  philanthropic 
or  commercial,  are  the  returns  more  speedy,  more 
manifest  or  more  beneficial."  1 

1  Forum,  November  1892. 


174  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

On  this  subject  Mr.  W.  H.  Mallock  has  said: 
"Though  neither  Socialism  nor  Trade  Unionism  may- 
have  much,  or  perhaps  any,  efficacy  in  raising  the 
maximum  of  the  labourer's  actual  income — though 
this  must  depend  on  forces  which  are  wholly  different 
—  yet  Trade  Unionism  and  the  principle  which  is 
called  Socialism  may  be  of  incalculable  service  in 
bringing  about  conditions  under  which  that  income 
may  be  earned  with  greater  certainty,  and  under  im- 
proved circumstances,  and,  above  all,  be  able  to  com- 
mand more  comforts,  conveniences  and  enjoyments. 
Thus  many  of  these  measures  which  I  have  called 
Socialistic  under  protest  may  be  regarded  as  an  inter- 
ception of  abortion  of  the  labourer's  income,  and  an 
expenditure  of  it  on  his  account  by  the  State  in  a 
way  from  which  he  derives  far  more  benefit  than  he 
would  or  could  have  secured,  if  he  had  had  the  spend- 
ing of  it  himself."  1  This  writer  may  protest  against 
the  name  Socialism  as  much  as  he  pleases  so  long  as 
he  admits  the  utility  of  the  thing  itself.  There  is 
not  only  a  tendency  to  intercept  part  of  the  labourer's 
income,  but  there  is  also  an  increasing  tendency  to 
intercept  a  larger  proportional  part  of  the  income  of 
the  persons  who  do  not  work,  but  who  enjoy  their 
ease  and  their  luxury,  because  able  in  some  way  to 
tax  the  industry  of  those  around  them. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  tendencies,  very  few 
people  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  direction  in  which  we 
are  going.  As  Mr.  Sydney  Webb  has  put  it :  "  The 
'practical  man,'  oblivious  or  contemptuous  of  any 
theory  of  the  social  organism  or  general  principles  of 

1  W.  H.  Mallock,  Labour  and  Popular  Welfare,  p.  319. 


MUNICIPAL  CONTROL 


175 


social  organisation,  has  been  forced  by  the  necessities 
of  the  time  into  an  ever-deepening  collectivist  chan- 
nel. Socialism,  of  course,  he  still  rejects  and  despises. 
The  individualist  town  councillor  will  walk  along  the 
municipal  pavement,  lit  by  municipal  gas  and  cleansed 
by  municipal  brooms  with  municipal  water,  and  seeing 
by  the  municipal  clock  in  the  municipal  market  that 
he  is  too  early  to  meet  his  children  coming  from  the 
municipal  school  hard  by  the  county  lunatic  asylum 
and  municipal  hospital,  will  use  the  national  telegraph 
system  to  tell  them  not  to  walk  through  the  munici- 
pal park,  but  to  come  by  the  municipal  tramway,  to 
meet  him  in  the  municipal  reading-room,  by  the 
municipal  art  gallery,  museum  and  library,  where  he 
intends  to  consult  some  of  the  national  publications 
in  order  to  prepare  his  next  speech  in  the  municipal 
town-hall,  in  favour  of  the  nationalisation  of  canals 
and  the  increase  of  the  Government  control  over  the 
railway  system.  '  Socialism,  sir!'  he  will  say.  'Don't 
waste  the  time  of  a  practical  man  by  your  fantastic 
absurdities.  Self-help,  sir,  individual  self-help,  that's 
what's  made  our  city  what  it  is.'  "  1 

We  will  consider  a  little  further  on  whether,  after 
all,  the  works  enumerated  by  Mr.  Webb  do  really 
embody  the  distinctive  features  of  socialism,  or 
whether  they  are  only  developments  of  individualism. 
A  good  deal  of  time  and  misunderstanding  would  be 
saved  if  the  fundamental  ideas  involved  in  the  differ- 
ent social  movements  were  carefully  studied,  as  it 
would  be  found  that  apparent  differences  lay  more 
in  words  than  in  ideas. 

1  Socialism  in  England,  p.  116. 


176  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

The  development  which  is  at  present  taking  place 
in  every  department  of  Local  Government  opens  up 
great  possibilities  for  the  future ;  in  fact  the  chief 
reason  for  this  development  is  to  make  social  and 
industrial  reforms  possible,  for  those  who  really 
understand  the  problems  have  no  wish  for  a  highly 
centralised  authority  which  too  often  means  dull, 
lifeless,  official  routine.  On  the  contrary,  they  are 
of  opinion  that  it  is  only  possible  to  carry  out  their 
ideas  when  power  is  localised,  and  when  those  who 
exercise  it  can  observe  all  the  conditions  of  the  prob- 
lems which  they  are  called  upon  to  solve.  Those 
who  do  not  care  for  the  name  Socialism  may  speak 
of  the  works  of  the  different  local  bodies  as  com- 
munised  co-operation. 

The  actions  of  all  democratic  organisations  depend 
entirely  on  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the  people,  and 
the  extent  and  sphere  of  these  actions  on  the  state 
of  public  opinion  and  education  ;  and  there  are  no 
reasons  why  it  should  not  ultimately  include  the  con- 
trol and  management  of  all  that  relates  to  the  essen- 
tial requirements  of  the  life  of  the  community  and 
of  its  members.  It  is  altogether  a  matter  of  expedi- 
ency, and  it  is  for  the  community  to  decide  in  each 
case  when  collective  action  is  necessary  and  desirable, 
and  when  it  is  impossible  and  dangerous.  Step  by 
step  the  municipalities  will  go  on  socialising  essential 
wants  and  eliminating  the  purely  individualistic  ele- 
ment in  their  management,  and  the  highest  positions 
of  honour  will  be  those  under  the  municipality  which 
have  been  given  to  the  most  worthy  citizens,  who 
recognise  that  the  best  rewards  they  can  obtain  are 
not  large  salaries  or  the  possession  of  great  wealth, 


vin  MUNICIPAL  CONTROL  1 77 

but  the  opportunities  of  rendering  efficient  social 
service  by  leaving  their  mark  for  good  on  the  world 
and  by  influencing  the  social  life  of  the  whole  com- 
munity. 

In  addition  to  the  strictly  municipal  work  that  is 
undertaken  on  behalf  of  the  community,  there  are  a 
very  large  number  of  voluntary  associations 

....  ...  /  Voluntary 

and  institutions  which  may  be  considered  Associa- 
semi-municipal  in  their  nature,  and  many 
of  which  are  evidently  destined  to  become  wholly  so 
before  long.  Among  these,  for  instance,  are  the 
hospitals  of  different  kinds  which  are  founded  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  in  some  of  the  waste  products  of 
our  industrial  and  social  system,  and  for  repairing  as 
far  as  possible  the  injuries  which  they  have  suffered. 
Such  institutions  are  sometimes  pointed  at  as  the 
glories  of  our  civilisation.  They  should  on  the  con- 
trary be  looked  upon  chiefly  as  monuments  of  neg- 
lected duties,  and  the  object  of  all  social  reformers 
should  not  be  to  extend  them,  but  so  to  improve 
social  and  industrial  conditions  as  to  render  them 
almost  entirely  unnecessary.  As  sanitary  conditions 
are  now  being  regulated  by  municipalities  and  other 
local  authorities,  they  have  found  it  necessary  to 
institute  hospitals  for  infectious  diseases  and  to  carry 
out  many  arrangements  which  are  necessary  for  the 
efficiency  of  their  work,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  gradually  all  hospitals  and  other  similar  institu- 
tions will  be  socialised  and  brought  under  public  con- 
trol. Not  only  will  this  lead  to  economy  in  their 
administration,  but  it  will  also  show  more  distinctly 
than  at  present  the  necessity  for  efforts  being  made 
to  render  them  unnecessary. 


178  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap,  vm 

The  same  is  true  of  friendly  and  charity  organisa- 
tion societies  and  the  like.  Already  the  process  of 
co-ordination  of  agencies  has  commenced,  and  it  must 
continue  until  it  has  put  an  end  to  all  special  societies, 
and  their  duties,  if  any  be  left,  will  be  transferred  to 
that  society  of  societies  which  is  Society  itself.  No 
matter  how  far  this  co-ordination  may  go,  there  will 
still  be  scope  for  individual  exertion  in  social  fields, 
after  a  manner  which  we  will  consider  in  a  future 
chapter. 


CHAPTER   IX 

MODERN    STATE    CONTROL 

In  a  previous  chapter  a  sketch  has  been  given  of 
the  development  of  State  control  till  the  dawn  of 
that  industrial  revolution,  which  was  brought  introduc- 
about  by  the  improvements  made  by  James  tory' 
Watt  in  the  steam-engine,  and  the  rapid  develop- 
ments which  took  place  in  the  appliances  connected 
with  cotton  manufacture.  The  extreme  regulation 
of  trade  and  industry  by  legislative  and  administra- 
tive enactments  led  Adam  Smith  to  study  existing 
conditions  carefully,  and  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  freedom  of  trade  was  an  absolute  necessity  if 
the  country  were  to  advance  in  wealth  and  general 
prosperity.  As  has  been  mentioned,  he  believed  that 
there  is  a  natural  order  of  things  which  corresponds 
with  a  divine  order,  and  that  free  competition  between 
man  and  man  is  regulated  by  a  higher  Power,  which 
in  the  end  directs  individual  actions  in  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  whole  community.  As  we  have  seen, 
however,  the  development  of  machinery  has  made 
the  instrument  which  Smith  thought  necessary  for 
destroying  monopoly  a  means  of  establishing  it. 

The  evils  arising  from  unrestricted  individual  action 
and  competition  in  industry  and  trade  have  led,  on 
the  one  hand,  to  the  passing  of  the  Factory  Acts  and 
to  much  legislation  of  a  similar  nature,  and,  on  the 

179 


l80  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

other,  to  the  municipal  or  State  control  of  industries, 
so  that  they  may  be  used  in  the  interests  of  the  whole 
community.  Absolute  laissez-faire  was  never  the 
creed  of  any  political  party,  for  it  is  evident  this 
would  have  inevitably  resulted  in  absolute  anarchy 
of  the  worst  kind.  If  it  had  continued  to  prevail, 
"  we  should  have  had  a  proletariat  of  servile  workers, 
degraded  in  physique,  in  mind,  in  morals ;  mothers 
working  in  mines  and  factories,  their  sickly  children 
dying  without  a  mother's  care,  or  surviving  with  en- 
feebled frames;  other  children  ignorant  and  savage, 
worked  to  death  or  growing  up  savages ;  the  whole 
labouring  population  turned  into  mere  human  plant 
and  instruments  to  make  the  fortunes  of  masters  con- 
stantly becoming  more  insolent  and  inhuman  from 
impunity.  We  should  have  had  the  '  slave  gangs  '  of 
the  Roman  Republic  repeated,  only  that  the  slaves 
would  have  been  the  countrymen  of  their  masters, 
neither  conquered  in  battle  nor  born  in  slavery.  We 
should  have  had  a  caste  of  servile  labourers  working 
for  the  capitalists'  fortunes  as  well  as  for  the  general 
convenience."  1 

Reference  must  be  made  to  special  works  for  a  de- 
tailed account  of  the  development  of  the  State  con- 
state    trol  of  industry  through  the  Factory  Laws 

Control.  anc|  other  similar  legislative  enactments  ;  all 
we  can  do  meantime  is  to  note  a  few  of  the  main  lines 
of  evolution. 

The  first  Factory  Act,  the  so-called  Health  and 
Morals  Act,  was  introduced  by  Sir  Robert  Peel  in 
1802,  who  justified  his  procedure  by  saying  that  some 

1  Graham,  Socialism,  Neiv  and  Old,  p.  394. 


IX   .  MODERN   STATE  CONTROL  jgj 

such  measure  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  mechani- 
cal inventions  which  were  the  glory  of  the  age,  from 
becoming  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing  to  the  country. 
This  Act  was  intended  to  remove  some  of  the  most 
glaring  evils  by  insisting  on  improved  sanitary  condi- 
tions and  on  the  provision  of  a  certain  amount  of  ed- 
ucation to  boys  and  girls  employed  in  the  factories. 
It  was  not,  however,  until  1819  that  another  Act  was 
passed  which  limited  the  hours  of  labour  and  other- 
wise  improved  the   conditions    of   the  workers.     In 

1832  a  Royal  Commission  was  appointed,  chiefly  in 
consequence  of  the  earnest  appeals  of  Mr.  Sadler  and 
Lord  Ashley  —  afterwards  better  known  as  the  Earl 
of  Shaftesbury.  The  evidence  given  before  it  re- 
vealed a  horrible  state  of  affairs,  and  it  was  felt  that 
more  vigorous  restrictions  were  urgently  needed.     In 

1833  an  Act  was  passed  for  the  further  protection  of 
children  and  young  persons.  Children  were  not  to 
work  more  than  nine  hours  a  day,  and  were  to  attend 
two  hours  per  day  in  school,  and  the  half-time  system 
of  attendance  was  rendered  compulsory.  A  little 
later  an  Act  was  passed  creating  factory  inspectors 
to  prevent  the  evasions  which  had  become  common. 
In  1844  another  Act  still  further  reduced  the  hours 
of  labour  of  children  and  young  persons,  and  provided 
arrangements  for  their  education ;  and  in  subsequent 
years  limitations  of  hours  and  educational  and  sani- 
tary arrangements  were  made  and  extended  to  nearly 
all  descriptions  of  manufactories  and  workshops.  In 
1878  a  consolidating  Act  was  passed  containing  no 
fewer  than  107  sections  relating  to  all  the  provisions 
which  had  been  made  regarding  sanitation,  ventila- 
tion, and  other  conditions  of  work,  the  hours  of  labour, 


1 82  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  c«ap. 

education  and  holidays,  and  to  the  official  machinery 
necessary  for  the  effective  carrying  out  of  its  provis- 
ions, such  as,  for  instance,  the  appointment  of  in- 
spectors and  certifying  surgeons.  In  1891  this  Act 
was  amended  by  giving  the  Local  Authorities  power 
to  enforce  the  provisions  relating  to  public  health, 
and  making  more  complete  arrangements  with  regard 
to  unhealthy  and  dangerous  occupations,  and  the  con- 
ditions of  employment  of  women  and  children.  The 
number  of  inspectors  was  increased,  and  some  female 
inspectors  were  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  seeing 
that  the  regulations  regarding  the  conditions  of  the 
employment  of  women  were  enforced. 

It  will  be  observed  from  this  sketch  that  factory 
legislation  proceeded  along  four  clearly  discernible 
lines  of  evolution.1  (1)  A  movement  along  the  line 
of  strongest  human  feeling,  beginning  with  the  weak- 
est workers  and  protecting,  first,  the  pauper  children, 
then  advancing  to  other  children,  young  persons, 
women  and  men.  (2)  Protective  legislation  moving 
from  the  more  highly  organised  to  the  less  highly 
organised  structures  of  industry,  beginning  with  the 
cotton-mills,  then  gradually  including  all  the  textile 
trades,  and  proceeding  to  the  non-textile  workshops, 
general  workshops,  retail  trade  and  domestic  service. 
(3)  The  aims  of  the  legislation  gradually  becoming 
more  complex,  beginning  with  the  limitation  of  the 
quantity  of  labour  of  factory  workers,  and  proceed- 
ing to  the  more  general  conditions  of  all  classes  of 
workers,  and  including  sanitation,  education,  machine 
fencing,  etc.     (4)  Increased  effectiveness  of  legisla- 

1  Cf.  Hobson,  The  Evolution  of  Modern  Capitalism,  p.  321. 


ix  MODERN   STATE  CONTROL  1 83 

tion,  with  growth  of  centralised  control,  by  the  ex- 
tension chiefly  of  the  machinery  of  inspection  and  of 
the  facilities  for  the  enforcement  of  the  laws. 

All  the  agencies  which  have  been  employed  for 
improving  the  conditions  of  the  workers  are  proofs 
that  the  biological  aspects  of  industrial  and  national 
life  are  now  beginning  to  receive  attention,  although 
as  yet  in  a  very  haphazard  manner,  whereas  in  the 
early  days  of  the  industrial  revolution  the  physical 
aspects  only  were  looked  at.  Cheap  goods  were  pro- 
duced without  regard  to  the  effects  on  human  life  and 
social  conditions.  The  capitalist  who  in  the  begin- 
ning of  this  century  could  make  a  fortune  out  of 
cotton-spinning  or  other  industry  by  using  up  several 
generations  of  men  and  women  in  one  generation, 
has  been  driven  out  of  existence  by  the  factory  and 
the  sanitary  inspectors,  who  may  thus  be  looked  upon 
as  pioneers  of  socialism  —  of  a  kind,  for  they  compel 
attention  to  the  social  aspects  of  production.  Strictly 
speaking,  however,  they  are  not  socialistic,  in  the 
widest  sense  of  that  term,  for  they  leave  private  capi- 
talism intact.  Indeed  they  rather  tend  to  preserve 
it  by  ensuring  it  a  longer  life,  and  in  this  sense  they 
are  anti-socialistic.  It  should  be  observed,  however, 
that  while  legislation  of  this  kind  has  very  important 
economic  results,  it  was  passed  for  moral  rather  than 
economic  ends.  Mr.  Goschen  has  said  that  he  be- 
lieves "  that  certainly  in  the  case  of  the  Factory  Acts 
it  was  a  moral  rather  than  an  economic  influence  — 
the  conscientious  feeling  of  what  was  right  rather 
than  the  intellectual  feeling  of  ultimate  material  gain 
—  it  was  the  public  imagination  touched  by  obliga- 
tions of  our  higher  nature  which  supplied  the  tremen- 


1 84  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

dous  motive  power  for  passing  laws  which  put  the 
State  and  its  inspectors  in  place  of  the  father  or 
mother  as  guardians  of  a  child's  education,  labour  or 
health." 2  This  may  be  admitted  and  is  probably- 
true,  but  it  practically  amounts  to  the  confession  that 
if  we  had  justice  in  our  social  arrangements,  we 
would  also  have  the  highest  economic  efficiency. 
This,  however,  is  precisely  what  science  and  ethics 
alike  teach  us,  and  what  socialists  demand,  although 
it  must  be  confessed  they  seem  to  attach  undue 
importance  to  the  merely  material  aspects  of  the 
problem. 

The  tendency  is  ever  to  increase  the  amount  of 
State  control  of  the  kind  which  we  have  been  con- 
sidering, and  there  is  a  danger  not  only  of  the  whole 
organisation  developing  into  official  routine,  but  also 
of  producing  a  low  form  of  morality.  Factory  legis- 
lation, and  indeed  all  legislation  of  a  similar  kind, 
should  be  considered  to  be  merely  of  a  transitional 
nature.  Instead  of  increasing  the  number  of  laws, 
and  multiplying  the  number  of  inspectors,  and  ex- 
tending the  scope  of  their  operations,  the  aim  should 
rather  be  to  render  them  unnecessary,  by  raising  the 
standard  of  individual  and  collective  opinion  to  such 
an  extent  that  no  one  would  care  to  make  money,  or 
otherwise  to  advance  his  own  interests,  by  taking 
undue  advantage  in  any  form  of  any  of  his  fellow- 
creatures.  This,  as  we  shall  see  further  on,  should 
be  one  of  the  chief  functions  of  modern  industrial 
guilds. 

Public   education    is   partly   under   municipal   and 

1  Addresses,  p.  62. 


IX  MODERN   STATE  CONTROL  1 85 

partly  under  State  control,  and  the  increasing  ab- 
sorption of  the  incomes  of  the  comparatively  rich  to 
provide  for  the  education  of  the  children  of 
their  poorer  brethren  distinctly  shows  its 
socialistic  tendency.  Those  who  dislike  the  term 
"socialistic"  may  speak  of  the  education  rate  as 
an  insurance  against  pauperism  and  crime,  and  a 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  modern  civilisation  is 
an  organisation  in  which  all  members  are  equally  in- 
terested, and  that  the  welfare  of  its  whole  depends 
on  that  of  its  individual  parts.  Moreover,  it  is  now 
being  recognised,  not  only  by  individuals  but  also 
by  communities,  that  life  was  meant  for  higher  ends 
than  the  mere  accumulation  of  material  wealth,  and 
that  all  their  efforts  should  have  for  their  object  the 
welfare  of  the  race. 

Like  many  other  modern  tendencies,  this  is  really 
a  return  to  an  old  ideal.  In  the  Middle  Ages  a  great 
part  of  the  charge  for  education  was  borne  by  the 
land  either  directly  or  through  the  Church,  which 
was  considered  the  trustee  on  behalf  of  the  people. 
At  the  time  of  the  Reformation  the  landlords  ap- 
propriated a  great  deal  of  the  Church  property,  and 
thus  put  into  their  pockets  what  was  practically  the 
national  school  and  poor  fund.  Until  the  passing  of 
the  Education  Act,  however,  they  were  directly  re- 
sponsible for  a  great  part  of  the  expense  of  educa- 
tion. By  this  Act  they  were  relieved  entirely  of  this 
expense,  and  it  was  defrayed  by  a  public  rate  and  an 
Imperial  grant,  in  which  of  course  they  had  to  take 
their  share  as  members  of  the  community,  but  not 
as  owners  of  the  land. 

Before  the  passing  of  the  Act  the  old  parochial 


1 86  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

system  was  found  to  be  not  nearly  sufficient  for 
the  requirements  of  populous  districts,  and  it  was 
supplemented  by  church  and  private  schools.  In 
Scotland  these  latter  have  to  a  very  large  extent 
disappeared  (except  as  regards  the  Catholics),  and  in 
England,  although  the  process  has  been  slower,  they 
are  gradually  being  absorbed  into  the  national  system. 
The  legislative  enactments  which  have  practically 
made  elementary  education  free  all  over  the  country, 
must  inevitably  lead  to  the  consolidation  of  this 
system  and  to  the  clearer  recognition  by  the  people 
that  education  is  a  matter  of  national  concern  which 
cannot  be  left  to  the  hazards  of  chance.  Free  educa- 
tion is  the  practical  recognition  of  the  principle  that 
education  is  a  necessity  and  not  a  luxury,  and  that  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  State  to  arrange  that  it  should  be 
within  the  reach  of  all,  and  that  it  be  chiefly  directed 
towards  the  advancement  of  the  social  welfare  of  the 
people.  At  no  distant  date  society  will  see  that  it 
is  best  and  cheapest  to  put  within  the  reach  of  every 
man  at  his  start  in  life  the  most  efficient  it  can  pro- 
vide in  the  way  of  education.  Not  only  is  this  true 
of  general,  but  also  of  technical  and  professional 
education.  Large  sums  of  money  from  Imperial  and 
local  sources  aretnow  being  spent  all  over  the  country 
in  extending  and  improving  the  education  of  those 
engaged  or  about  to  engage  in  trade  and  industry, 
while  the  various  colleges  and  universities  which 
prepare  for  the  professions  are  having  their  grants 
of  money  largely  increased. 

It  is  now  being  distinctly  recognised  that  the  social 
and  industrial  problems  are  essentially  educational 
problems,  and   that   no  education   is  worthy  of  the 


MODERN   STATE   CONTROL 


I87 


name  which  does  not  fit  men  intellectually,  morally, 
physically  and  professionally  for  complete  living.  All 
schools  of  thought,  whether  individualist  or  socialist, 
agree  that,  if  the  race  is  to  progress,  it  must  be  largely 
through  the  development  of  science,  in  the  highest 
sense  of  this  term.  It  has  often  been  said  that  be- 
tween the  great  forces  of  modern  society,  democracy 
and  science,  there  is  a  direct  opposition,  as  the  first 
tends  to  level  and  the  second  to  create  differences. 
No  doubt  this  is  true  of  science  as  usually  under- 
stood, but  the  longer  men  study  it,  the  less  are  they 
satisfied  with  many  of  its  methods,  and  they  differ 
entirely  from  some  of  its  conclusions.  We  have  seen 
that  Ruskin's  influence  on  economic  science  is  begin- 
ning to  turn  it  outside  in,  and  it  is  possible  to  sup- 
pose a  similar  revolution  in  other  departments.  No 
department  of  knowledge  can  be  considered  as  being 
on  a  scientific  basis  which  is  studied  quite  by  itself, 
and  which  does  not  take  into  account  all  the  aspects 
of  the  problems  connected  with  it.  Education  must 
therefore  be  carefully  studied  in  all  its  aspects  if  it  is 
to  lead  to  the  highest  national  good,  and  if  properly 
carried  out,  it  will  be  found  to  be  the  best  equaliser 
of  social  conditions,  and  that  it  will  ultimately  solve 
all  our  social  problems. 

It  is  gradually  being  realised  that  public  health  is 
public  wealth,  and  both  local  authorities  and  the  cen- 
tral Government  are  now  armed  with  suffi-  Pubiic 
cient  powers  to  safeguard  the  public  health  Health- 
by  insisting  on  adequate  sanitary  arrangements.  Like 
education,  public  health  is  being  municipalised  and 
nationalised. 

The  Factory  Acts  were  passed  for  the  protection 


1 88  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

of  the  workers  engaged  in  particular  industries,  but 
along  with  the  demand  for  these  acts  there  arose 
another  for  the  improvement  of  the  sanitary  condi- 
tions of  the  whole  community.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  movement  there  was  a  considerable  amount  of 
activity  on  the  part  of  the  public,  but  it  was  carried 
on  under  a  sense  of  the  magnitude  of  the  evils  which 
all  recognised  rather  than  with  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  proper  remedies  to  be  applied.  The  Public 
Health  Act  was  passed  in  1848,  but  at  first  it  was 
administered  with  more  zeal  than  discretion  and  thus 
led  to  a  reaction  in  the  public  mind.  Opinion,  how- 
ever, gradually  ripened  on  the  subject,  and  scientific 
men  collected  a  large  number  of  facts  and  ascertained 
the  principles  which  underlay  them,  and  this  led  in 
1866  to  a  great  outburst  of  legislative  activity  in 
sanitary  matters.  A  Royal  Sanitary  Commission 
was  appointed,  and  its  Report,  which  was  published 
in  1 87 1,  had  a  great  effect  both  on  legislation  and 
administration.  Numerous  acts  have  been  passed 
dealing  with  many  details,  and  Town  and  County 
Councils  have  now  very  full  powers  in  regulating 
sanitary  matters,  and  are  displaying  great  activity 
regarding  them.  A  marked  improvement  is  thus 
taking  place  in  public  health,  and  the  prevention  of 
disease  is  gradually  being  recognised  as  the  proper 
function  of  the  medical  profession. 

In  addition  to  the  control  exercised  through  factory 
laws  and   other   similar   legislative  enactments,   the 

State  for  a  long  time  has  directly  managed 
Manage-     many  of  the  affairs  of  the  nation.     Notable 

among  these  are  the  international  relations 
which  are   necessary  to   enable  us  to    regulate   our 


ix  MODERN  STATE   CONTROL  1 89 

affairs  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  cause  any  trouble 
with  the  other  nations  of  the  world,  or  should  any 
arise,  to  settle  it  as  soon  as  possible.  Our  diplomatic 
and  consular  service  is  in  fact  a  rudimentary  stage 
of  that  international  service  which  will  be  necessary 
when  the  federation  of  the  world  has  become  an 
accomplished  fact. 

The  armies  and  navies  of  the  world,  however,  afford 
the  most  instructive  lessons  in  collective  action,  and 
those  who  use  them  for  despotic  or  personal  ends  fail 
to  see  that  what  is  possible  with  armies  and  navies  as 
fighting  machines  is  also  possible  for  armies  of  men 
organised  for  industrial  work,  and  for  navies  destined 
for  carrying  on  commerce,  as  well  as  in  many  other 
industrial  organisations.  The  arsenals,  factories  and 
dockyards  which  are  required  to  supply  the  materials 
of  war  are  indeed  industrial  organisations,  and  experi- 
ence has  shown  that  they  can  now  turn  out  work  as 
cheaply  and  as  efficiently  as  private  establishments. 
Moreover,  Cabinet  Ministers  do  not  hesitate  to  say 
from  their  places  in  Parliament  that  the  Government 
ought  to  be  "  among  the  best  employers  in  the  coun- 
try," and  to  take  rank  "in  the  first  flight  of  em- 
ployers," that  is  to  say,  that  cheap  products  should 
not  be  the  only  object  kept  in  view,  but  that  the  wel- 
fare of  the  workers  should  never  be  forgotten;  and 
the  arrangements  which  have  been  made  for  an  eight 
hours'  day  in  the  Government  establishments  prove 
that  it  is  the  intention  to  translate  these  words  into 
effective  actions.  Whether  Government  will  go  a 
step  further  and  use  its  whole  moral  force,  in  its 
capacity  of  employer,  as  a  lever  to  raise  the  condition 
of  labour  in  the  country,  depends  entirely  on  the  edu- 


190  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

cation  of  public  opinion  and  the  consequent  state  of 
the  public  conscience. 

In  the  general  Civil  Service  the  State  is  now  a 
very  large  employer  of  labour,  and  most  of  the  avenues 
to  entrance  are  already  thrown  open  to  public  compe- 
tition. In  this  way  the  State  not  only  endeavours  to 
guarantee  the  ability  of  its  employees,  but  also  avoids 
the  possibility  of  the  charge  of  favouritism,  although 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  in  all  cases  the  best  men 
are  selected  by  the  system.  In  the  higher  grades  of 
the  service  the  conditions  are  such  as  to  attract  men 
of  the  best  ability  and  education,  while  in  the  lower 
the  conditions  of  work  are  good,  the  salaries  fair  and 
the  hours  not  excessive.  The  remuneration  is  such 
as  to  enable  workers  to  live  comfortably  and  to  be 
comparatively  free  from  anxiety  for  the  future,  for 
with  good  conduct  their  employment  is  certain,  and 
there  is  generally  a  pension  after  the  day  of  active 
exertion  has  passed. 

The  development  of  the  work  of  the  Post  Office, 
with  all  its  departments  of  telegraphs,  savings-banks, 
parcel  post  and  other  agencies,  is  a  remarkable 
example  of  State  management  about  which  all  are 
practically  agreed  that  it  is  carried  on  with  great 
efficiency  and  with  due  regard  to  the  convenience  of 
the  public  and  the  welfare  of  the  employees.  At  the 
same  time,  it  is  all  in  the  direction  of  making  the 
work  of  the  individual  more  efficient. 

It  appears  that  the  conditions  of  some  of  the  em- 
ployees of  the  Post  Office  are  not  so  good  as  they 
might  wish,  but  a  gradual  improvement  is  taking  place, 
and  it  would  be  unfair  to  the  community  generally  to 
make  one  comparatively  small  class  much  better  off 


MODERN   STATE  CONTROL 


191 


than  those  who  are  performing  work  of  the  same  kind 
for  private  employers.  In  this  as  in  all  other  matters 
the  method  should  be  evolution,  not  revolution. 

The  administration  of  justice  has  long  been  a  State 
function  not  open  to  competition,  and  it  is  not  denied 
that  the  work  is  performed  both  with  efficiency  and 
zeal.  Proposals  are  in  the  air  for  the  State  manage- 
ment of  railways,  mines  and  other  industries,  and 
these  have  been  made,  not  by  visionary  enthusiasts, 
but  by  hard-headed  business  men  who  know  all  the 
difficulties  connected  with  the  work.  The  develop- 
ment which  has  taken  place  recently  in  many  depart- 
ments shows  that  all  these  proposals  are  quite  within 
the  sphere  of  practical  politics,  as  soon  as  we  seriously 
think  of  taking  them  up.  In  short,  both  economists 
and  politicians  are  beginning  to  recognise,  although 
in  a  blind  half-conscious  manner,  that  industrial  soci- 
ety will  not  permanently  remain  without  a  systematic 
organisation,  and  that  the  mere  conflict  of  private 
interests  will  never  produce  a  well-ordered  common- 
wealth of  labour. 

The  industrial  arrangements  which  should  be  taken 
under  the  direct  control  of  the  State  are  evidently 
those  that  are  common  to  the  whole  people  and  which 
can  be  taken  advantage  of  by  them  on  exactly  the 
same  terms,  and  those  necessary  for  the  defence  of 
the  country.  All  those  of  a  local  nature  should  be 
under  the  control  of  the  different  local  authorities 
who  would  be  held  directly  responsible  for  their  effi- 
ciency and  economy  by  the  electors,  and  be  open  to 
criticism  and  advice  regarding  all  details.  In  no  case 
should  they  hinder  the  free  development  of  the  indi- 
vidual. 


192  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

Mr.  Frederic  Harrison  has  remarked  "  that  most 
of  what  is  called  Socialism  is  a  perfectly  healthy  re- 
action against  the  pragmatical  prejudices  that  profess 
to  be  Political  Economy.  The  old  Plutonomy,  we 
may  trust  is  dead  and  buried.  Socialism  is  in  the 
air ;  and  is  modifying  the  whole  current  of  our  poli- 
tics and  our  legislation.  So  far  as  it  has  yet  gone,  it 
means  in  the  main  the  moralisation  of  our  social  and 
political  system ;  and  we  may  wish  it  a  long  and 
victorious  career.  That  it  throws  up  a  mass  of  crude 
and  suicidal  '  nostrums '  is  true  enough.  But  these 
must  be  met  by  the  practical  sense  of  our  political 
leaders  and  a  more  serious  education  of  the  people."  1 

The  Right  Hon.  Joseph  Chamberlain,  M.P.,  who 

has  taken  a  very  active  part  both  in  municipal  and 

imperial  legislation  and  administration,  thus 

Results  of     describes  the  improvement  which  has  taken 

Municipal  .  .,  . 

and  state  place  during  the  last  halt  century  chiefly 
in  consequence  of  the  action  of  these  agen- 
cies :  —  "  Pauperism  has  greatly  diminished,  and  the 
poor  rate  is  certainly  less  than  half  of  what  it  was 
before  the  New  Poor  Law.  Crime  has  diminished  in 
quantity,  and  has  on  the  whole  been  mitigated  in  its 
character.  Education  has  been  brought  within  the 
reach  of  every  workingman's  child  and  within  the 
means  of  every  parent.  Protection  has  been  afforded 
against  excessive  toil  and  overwork ;  and  the  observ- 
ance of  proper  sanitary  conditions  for  labour  has  been 
universally  enforced.  The  laws  against  combinations 
have  been  repealed,  trade  unions  have  been  legalised, 
and  the  workmen  are  able  to  meet  the  employers  on 

1  Fortnightly  Review,  July  1893,  p.  38. 


ix  MODERN   STATE  CONTROL 


193 


more  equal  terms  in  the  settlement  of  the  rate  of 
wages.  The  care  of  the  public  health  has  been  rec- 
ognised as  a  public  duty  and  enforced  both  upon  indi- 
viduals and  the  local  authorities ;  the  trammels  have 
been  removed  from  industry ;  the  taxes  on  food  and 
on  all  the  great  necessaries  of  life  have  been  repealed  ; 
facilities  of  travel  and  intercommunication  have  been 
largely  extended  and  developed ;  opportunities  of  self- 
improvement  have  been  afforded  to  all  at  the  cost 
of  the  community."  After  speaking  about  the  in- 
crease of  wages,  estimated  at  fifty  per  cent  and  more, 
the  reduction  of  the  hours  of  labour,  averaging  twenty 
per  cent,  the  reduction  in  the  price  of  bread,  light, 
locomotion,  the  diminution  of  the  death  rate,  and 
other  improvements,  he  adds  :  —  "  An  impartial  ex- 
amination of  the  facts  and  figures  here  set  forth  must 
lead  to  the  conclusion  that  there  has  been  a  very 
great  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  people 
during  the  period  under  review,  and  this  improvement 
has  been  largely  due  to  the  intervention  of  the  State 
and  to  what  is  called  socialistic  legislation.  The 
Acts  for  the  regulation  of  mines,  the  Truck  Act 
(preventing  the  payment  of  wages  in  kind),  the  Acts 
regulating  merchant  shipping,  the  Artisans'  Dwellings 
Act,  the  Allotments  Act  (enabling  local  authorities 
to  take  land  and  to  provide  allotments  for  labourers), 
the  Education  Act,  the  Poor  Law  and  the  Irish  Land 
Acts,  are  all  of  them  measures  which  more  or  less 
limit  and  control  individual  action."  l  All,  or  at  any 
rate  the  greater  part,  of  this  will  be  admitted  without 
dispute,  but  in  order  that  the   description   may  be 

1  "  Favourable  Aspects  of  State  Socialism,"  North  American  Review, 
May  1 89 1.     Quoted  in  Professor  Ely's  Socialism,  p.  259. 


194  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

made  more  complete  we  require  to  place  alongside 
of  it  the  sketch  of  social  conditions  which  we  have 
already  given,1  and  to  pay  special  attention  to  the 
latter  part  of  it  which  deals  with  the  darker  side  of 
the  picture. 

A  well-known  Conservative  writer  has  said :  "  What 
is  popularly  called  Socialism  in  this  country,  so  far 
The  Reia-  as  it  has  been  embodied  in  any  measure 
Municipal  passed  or  even  proposed  in  Parliament,  does 
cTntroHo  no^  emb°c^y  what  is  really  the  distinctive 
Socialism,  principle  of  Socialism.  Socialism,  regarded 
as  a  reasoned  body  of  doctrine,  rests  altogether  on 
a  peculiar  theory  of  production,  to  which  already  I 
have  made  frequent  reference  —  a  theory  according 
to  which  the  faculties  of  men  are  so  equal  that  one 
man  produces  as  much  wealth  as  another :  or  if  any 
man  produces  more,  he  is  so  entirely  indifferent  as 
to  whether  he  enjoys  what  he  produces  or  no,  that 
he  would  go  on  producing  it  just  the  same,  if  he  knew 
that  the  larger  part  would  at  once  be  taken  away 
from  him."  2  Speaking  of  the  works  undertaken  by 
the  State,  by  municipalities  and  other  similar  bodies, 
the  same  author  goes  on  to  say  :  —  "If  we  agree  to 
call  those  measures  socialistic  to  which  the  word  is 
popularly  applied  at  present,  Socialism,  instead  of 
being  opposed  to  Individualism,  is  its  necessary  com- 
plement, as  we  may  see  at  once  by  considering  the 
necessity  of  public  roads  and  a  police  force ;  for  the 
first  of  these  shows  us  that  private  property  would 
be  inaccessible  without  the  existence  of  social  prop- 
erty; and  the  second  that  it  would  be  insecure  with- 

1  See  p.  93. 

2  W.  H.  Mallock,  Labour  and  the  Popular  Welfare,  p.  291. 


IX  MODERN   STATE  CONTROL 


195 


out  the  existence  of  social  servants.  The  good  or 
evil,  then,  that  will  result  from  Socialism,  as  under- 
stood thus,  depends  altogether  on  questions  of  degree 
and  detail.  There  is  no  question  as  to  whether  we 
shall  be  socialistic  or  no.  We  must  be  socialistic, 
as  we  have  always  been,  though  perhaps  without 
knowing  it,  as  M.  Jourdain  talked  prose.  The  only 
question  is  as  to  the  precise  limits  to  which  the 
•socialistic  principle  can  be  pushed  with  advantage  to 
the  greatest  number."  1 

On  the  other  hand,  an  eminent  socialist  writer 
has  said  that  "the  transformation  either  into  joint- 
stock  companies  and  trusts,  or  into  State  ownership, 
does  not  do  away  with  the  capitalistic  nature  of  the 
productive  forces.  In  the  joint-stock  companies  and 
trusts  this  is  obvious,  and  the  modern  State,  again, 
is  only  the  organisation  that  bourgeois  society  takes 
on,  in  order  to  support  the  external  conditions  of  the 
capitalist  mode  of  production  against  the  encroach- 
ments, as  well  of  the  workers  as  of  individual  capi- 
talists. The  modern  State,  no  matter  what  its  form, 
is  essentially  a  capitalist  machine,  the  State  of  the 
capitalists,  the  ideal  personification  of  the  total 
national  capital.  The  more  it  proceeds  to  the  taking 
over  of  productive  forces,  the  more  does  it  actu- 
ally become  the  national  capitalist,  the  more  citizens 
does  it  exploit.  The  workers  remain  wage-workers 
—  proletarians.  The  capitalist  relation  is  not  done 
away  with.  It  is  rather  brought  to  a  head.  But 
brought  to  a  head,  it  topples  over.  State-ownership 
of  the  productive  forces  is  not  the  solution  of   the 

1  W.  H.  Mallock,  Labour  and  the  Popular  Welfare,  p.  295. 


196  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

conflict,  but  concealed  within  it  are  the  technical 
conditions  that  form  the  elements  of  that  solution."  l 

The  Conservative  believes  in  the  advantage  of  such 
Municipal  and  State  undertakings  as  we  have  been 
considering,  and  says  that  the  only  question  is  as  to 
the  precise  limits  to  which  the  socialistic  principle 
can  be  pushed  with  advantage  to  the  greatest  number, 
while  the  Socialist  admits  that  the  spirit  with  which 
the  work  is  carried  on, and  the  objects  which  are  kept 
in  view,  are  the  features  which  distinguish  Municipal 
and  State  ownership  and  management  from  Socialism. 

We  cannot  in  the  meantime  discuss  all  the  mean- 
ings which  have  been  given  to  the  term  "Socialism," 
but  it  will  be  useful  if  we  quote  the  opinions  of  a 
representative  of  the  moderate  school  of  Socialists. 

"The  late  Professor  Held,  who  claims  as  a  merit 
that  he  was  the  first  to  do  so,  explains  very  clearly 
what  he  meant  by  calling  himself  a  Socialist.  Social- 
ism may  mean  many  different  things ;  but,  as  he 
uses  the  word,  it  denotes  not  any  definite  system 
of  opinions  or  any  particular  plan  of  social  reform, 
but  only  a  general  method  which  may  guide  various 
systems,  and  may  be  employed  more  or  less  according 
to  circumstances  in  directing  many  different  reforms. 
He  is  a  Socialist  because  he  would  give  much  more 
place  than  obtains  at  present  to  the  associative  prin- 
ciples in  the  arrangements  of  economic  life,  and 
because  he  cannot  share  in  the  admiration  many 
economists  express  for  the  purely  individualistic 
basis  on  which  these  arrangements  have  come  to 
stand.     A  Socialist  is  simply  the  opposite  of  an  indi- 

1  Engels,  Socialism  :   Utopian  and  Scientific,  p.  71. 


IX  MODERN   STATE  CONTROL  197 

vidualist.  The  individualist  considers  that  the  per- 
fection of  an  industrial  economy  consists  in  giving  to 
the  principles  of  self-interest,  private  property  and 
free  competition,  on  which  the  present  order  of 
things  is  founded,  the  amplest  scope  they  are  capable 
of  receiving,  and  that  all  existing  economic  evils  are 
due,  not  to  the  operation  of  these  principles,  but 
only  to  their  obstruction,  and  will  gradually  disappear 
when  self-interest  comes  to  be  better  understood, 
when  competition  is  facilitated  by  easier  intercommu- 
nication, and  when  the  law  has  ceased  from  troubling 
and  left  industry  at  rest.  The  Socialist,  in  Held's 
sense,  is,  on  the  other  hand,  one  who  rejects  the 
comfortable  theory  of  the  natural  harmony  of  indi- 
vidual interests,  and  instead  of  deploring  the  obstruc- 
tions which  embarrass  the  operations  of  the  princi- 
ples of  competition,  self-interest  and  private  property, 
thinks  that  it  is  precisely  in  consequence  of  these 
obstructions  that  industrial  society  continues  to 
exist  at  all.  Strip  these  principles,  he  argues,  of  the 
restraints  put  upon  them  now  by  custom,  by  con- 
science, by  public  opinion,  by  a  sense  of  fairness  and 
kind  feeling,  and  the  inequalities  of  wealth  would  be  im- 
mensely aggravated,  and  the  labouring  classes  would 
be  unavoidably  ground  to  misery.  Industrial  society 
would  fall  into  general  anarchy,  into  a  bellum  om- 
nium contra  omnes,  in  which  they  that  have  would 
have  more  abundantly,  and  they  that  have  not  would 
lose  even  what  they  have.  Held  declines  to  join  in 
the  admiration  bestowed  by  many  scientific  econo- 
mists upon  this  state  of  war,  in  which  the  battle  is 
always  to  the  rich.  He  counts  it  neither  the  state 
of  nature,  nor  the  state  of  perfection   of  economic 


198  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap,  ix 

society,  but  simply  an  unhappy  play  of  selfish  and 
opposing  forces,  which  it  ought  to  be  one  of  the 
distinct  aims  of  political  economy  to  mitigate  and 
counteract.  Individualism  has  already  had  too  free 
a  course,  and  especially  in  the  immediate  past  has 
enjoyed  too  sovereign  a  reign.  The  work  of  the 
world  cannot  be  carried  on  by  a  fortuitous  concourse 
of  hostile  atoms,  moving  continually  in  a  strained 
state  of  suspended  social  war,  and  therefore,  for  the 
very  safety  of  industrial  society,  we  must  needs  now 
change  our  tack,  give  up  our  individualism,  and  sail 
in  the  line  of  the  more  positive  and  constructive 
tendencies  of  Socialism.  To  Held's  thinking  accord- 
ingly, Socialism  and  individualism  are  merely  two 
contrary  general  principles,  ideals  or  methods,  which 
may  be  employed  to  regulate  the  constitution  of 
economic  society,  and  he  declares  himself  a  Socialist 
because  he  believes  that  society  suffers  at  present 
from  our  excessive  application  of  the  individualistic 
principle,  and  can  only  be  cured  by  an  extensive 
employment  of  the  socialistic  one."  *  We  need  not 
be  frightened  by  names,  but  meantime  cautious  re- 
formers may  be  assured  that  such  works  as  have 
hitherto  been  undertaken  by  public  bodies  involve  no 
new  principle,  and  their  utility  depends  entirely  on 
their  degree  and  extent,  and  the  efficiency  with  which 
they  are  managed,  due  regard  being  paid  to  the 
interests  of  the  workers  and  of  the  community. 

1  Rae,  Contemporary  Socialism,  2nd  ed.,  p.  196. 


CHAPTER   X 

INDUSTRIAL    TRAINING 

As  I  have  already  pointed  out,  the  biological  condi- 
tions of  both  individual  and  national  life  require  the 
continuous  adjustment  of  internal  to  exter-  introduc- 
nal  relations.  When  the  environment  of  tory- 
the  individual  or  of  the  nation  changes  there  must  be 
constant  adjustments  to  meet  the  altered  conditions 
or  the  results  are  either  degeneration  or  death.  But 
by  well-directed  efforts  they  both  have  great  power 
to  alter  their  environment,  and  the  object  of  educa- 
tion at  all  times  has  been  to  fit  those  who  received  it 
for  adapting  themselves  to  the  conditions  necessary 
for  well-being,  and  for  making  the  most  of  their 
powers  in  one  direction  or  another.  In  other  words, 
real  progress  requires  a  simultaneous  improvement 
of  the  individual  and  the  environment. 

In  ancient  Greece  all  efforts  of  the  individual  were 
subordinated  to  the  welfare  of  the  State,  through 
which  alone  all  his  nature  could  be  developed  and 
completed.  In  modern  times,  however,  the  produc- 
tion of  material  wealth  or  the  attainment  of  personal 
ambition  has  led  to  a  perversion  of  the  objects  of 
education,  and  hence  the  many  social  difficulties  by 
which  we  are  now  confronted.  It  is  beginning  to  be 
perceived  that  the  object  of  all  political  action  should 
be  the  production  of  good  citizens,  and  that  wealth 

X99 


200  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

is  to  be  esteemed  only  for  the  higher  moral  and  public 
aims  which  it  may  be  made  to  serve.  At  the  same 
time,  the  industrial  requirements  of  education  should 
receive  careful  attention,  so  that  we  may  be  able 
fully  to  utilise  the  resources  of  nature,  and  thus  add 
to  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  community. 

To  prevent  misunderstanding  and  to  keep  our 
discussion  within  reasonable  limits  it  will  be  con- 
venient to  have  a  clear  idea  of  what  we  mean  by 
the  terms  "apprenticeship"  and  "technical  educa- 
tion." Apprenticeship  is  the  process  of  training 
which  is  undergone  by  any  one  who  wishes  to  learn 
the  practice  of  an  art,  craft,  trade  or  profession. 
Technical  education,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  term  of 
more  limited  meaning  and  implies  a  general  training 
in  the  principles  of  science  and  instruction  in  their 
applications  to  special  trades  or  professions.  This 
is  the  sense  in  which  it  is  understood  in  the  German 
Polytechnic  Schools,  and  the  more  direct  trades'  in- 
struction is  given  in  what  are  called  trades  schools. 
In  this  country,  however,  no  strict  line  of  division  is 
maintained  between  the  work  of  the  technical  and 
the  trades  schools,  and  in  many  of  our  institutions 
we  find  a  combination  of  the  two,  and  the  students 
not  only  obtain  instruction  in  the  theory  of  their 
work,  but  they  are  also  taught  some  of  the  opera- 
tions connected  with  its  practice  in  order  to  supple- 
ment their  experience  in  the  workshop,  and  if  proper 
care  be  exercised  in  the  arrangements,  the  results  are 
likely  to  be  very  satisfactory.  Of  course,  if  we  took 
the  term  "technical  education"  in  its  literal  sense  it 
would  include  both  the  theory  and  the  practice  of 
the  work,   but  in  this  country  the  training  of  the 


x  INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING  201 

technical  school  or  college  is  intended  to  supplement 
that  of  the  workshop  or  manufactory,  not  to  replace 
it.  In  the  workshop  and  trade  class  the  apprentice 
learns  methods,  and  in  the  technical  school  the  cor- 
responding reasons  ;  that  is  to  say  in  the  former  he  is 
chiefly  taught  to  imitate,  of  course  in  an  intelligent 
manner,  whereas  in  the  latter  he  is  trained  to  think, 
and  to  apply  his  knowledge  to  such  problems  as  he  is 
likely  to  meet  in  the  practice  of  his  trade  or  profession. 

A   glance    at  the  history  of   industry  shows  that 
it   may  be   roughly   divided   into   three   periods  :  — 
(i)  handicraft,  in  which  were  employed  small  Deveiop- 
master   craftsmen  with   a  few  journeymen  J^lLtriai 
and   apprentices,   and   where   each   worker  Training, 
produced  the   complete   article ;  (2)  manufacture,  in 
which  were   grouped   greater   numbers   of  workmen 
who  produced   the   complete  article   by  division   of 
labour,  each  worker  doing  a  part ;  (3)  modern  indus- 
try, in  which  the  article  is  produced  by  machinery 
driven   by  power,  and   in  which   the  duties   of  the 
worker  are  limited  to  superintending  and  correcting 
the  performances  of  the  mechanical  agent.     In  each 
of  these  periods  a  different  kind  of  training  was  neces- 
sary for  those  who  took  part  in  industrial  operations. 

As  we  have  seen  in  a  previous  chapter,  one  of  the 
main  objects  of  the  mediaeval  guilds  was  to  ensure 
the  proper  training  of  apprentices  in  the  mysteries  of 
their  crafts.  Before  any  were  admitted  to  the  rank 
of  journeymen  they  were  required  to  perform  a  piece 
of  work  which  demanded  considerable  skill  in  manip- 
ulation as  well  as  knowledge  of  the  methods  employed ; 
for,  although  there  was  not  much  of  what  is  at  present 
called  science,  still  there  was  among  the  members  of 


202  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

the  crafts  a  great  amount  of  condensed  experience 
and  practical  common  sense,  which  after  all  is  the 
best  form  of  science. 

As  trade  increased  there  was  a  gradual  extension 
of  the  family  system  of  production,  and  the  richer 
craftsmen  employed  some  of  the  poorer  or  younger 
members  as  journeymen,  and  there  was  in  conse- 
quence a  certain  amount  of  subdivision  of  labour. 
Thus  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  factory  system, 
which  is  carried  on  to  such  an  extent  in  modern 
industry. 

The  various  Acts  relating  to  apprenticeship  were 
codified  and  consolidated  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, and  their  provisions  extended  to  all  the  handi- 
crafts of  that  time.  Under  this  statute,  which  gave 
legal  force  to  all  the  customs  which  had  grown  up 
round  the  handicrafts  during  centuries,  no  one  could 
lawfully  exercise,  either  as  master  or  journeyman,  any 
art,  mystery  or  craft,  or  follow  any  employment  or 
occupation  unless  he  had  completed  a  seven  years' 
apprenticeship.  Moreover  every  apprentice  to  a 
manual  occupation  was  bound  to  remain  in  such  posi- 
tion until  the  age  of  twenty-four  years  at  least, 
although  in  agriculture  twenty-one  might  be  the  end 
of  the  term.  This  Act  long  remained  in  operation  in 
all  trades  which  existed  at  the  time  it  was  passed. 

The  development  of  industry  which  was  the  result 
of  the  improvements  in  the  steam-engine  and  the 
invention  of  all  kinds  of  machinery  led  to  a  great 
increase  in  the  number  of  trades  and  to  changes  in 
the  method  of  work.  All  these  new  trades  were 
exempted  from  the  operations  of  the  Act,  although 
many  of  them  conformed  to  a  considerable  extent  to 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING 


203 


its  requirements.  From  five  to  seven  years  was  con- 
sidered the  proper  time  for  apprentices  to  serve,  and 
at  the  end  of  this  time  they  ranked  as  journeymen 
and  had  to  take  their  chance  of  finding  occupation 
by  proving  their  skill.  As  division  of  labour  ex- 
tended, this  skill  became  more  and  more  specialised, 
and  the  formal  apprenticeships  were  to  a  large  extent 
given  up  and  boys  and  young  men  were  simply  paid 
for  what  their  labour  was  considered  worth.  In  the 
mechanical  trades,  however,  five  years  is  still  consid- 
ered the  average  time  which  young  men  require  to 
serve  as  apprentices,  although  they  are  seldom  for- 
mally bound  for  that  period,,  and  are  subject  to  almost 
the  same  uncertainties  of  occupation  as  the  journey- 
men, although  the  lowness  of  their  wages  causes 
them  to  receive  the  preference  in  dull  times.  More- 
over they  are  generally  kept  in  the  same  department, 
and  very  often  at  the  same  class  of  work,  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  time,  and  the  consequence  is  that 
they  are  so  seldom  qualified  to  undertake  general 
work,  as  was  the  case  before  division  of  labour  was 
carried  out  to  such  an  extent. 

The  ordinary  apprentice  is,  as  a  rule,  placed  in  a 
workshop  and  allowed  to  pick  up  his  trade  as  best  he 
can.  For  some  time  he  runs  messages  and  does  odd 
jobs  until  he  is  able  to  use  his  tools,  and  gradually  he 
makes  his  way  to  the  more  difficult  pieces  of  work, 
wasting  much  time  and  a  considerable  amount  of 
material  in  the  process,  for  of  real  instruction  there 
is  little  or  none.  What  little  he  gets  is  by  the 
generosity  of  the  workmen,  and  it  must  be  admitted 
that  if  he  shows  any  attractive  qualities  he  generally 
finds  some  one  to  take  him  by  the  hand.     He  thus 


204  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

acquires  a  certain  amount  of  manual  skill  through  the 
dull  routine  of  his  daily  work,  but  unless  he  exerts 
himself  and  studies  privately  or  takes  advantage  of 
evening  classes,  as  a  rule  he  grows  up  an  unin- 
structed  man  and  an  indifferent  workman.  When  he 
has  finished  his  years  of  apprenticeship,  he  generally 
becomes  a  member  of  his  trade  union  and  then 
claims  to  be  paid  at  the  same  rate  as  the  average  of 
his  fellow-workers. 

It  is  evident  that  the  conditions  of  apprenticeship 
in  the  workshop  or  manufactory  are  not  sufficient  to 
give  all  the  training  necessary  to  those  who 
tionai  Ar-  are  to  be  engaged  in  carrying  on  trade  and 
melts" re-  industry.  They  are  one-sided  and  imperfect 
mertpres-  anc*  require  to  be  supplemented  by  a  knowl- 
entcondi-  ec}ge  0f  the  theory  of  the  work  and  by 
opportunities  for  obtaining  a  more  general 
acquaintance  with  the  different  departments  and  of 
their  relations  to  one  another.  Hence  the  demand 
for  scientific  and  technical  education  to  supplement 
the  training  and  experience  of  the  workshop  or  man- 
ufactory. On  the  Continent  and  in  America  trades 
schools  are  becoming  very  common,  and  in  these  the 
scholars  are  supposed  to  obtain  such  a  training  as 
will  enable  them  to  earn  their  living,  but  except  in 
very  special  cases  these  schools  are  not  likely  to  be 
adopted  in  this  country,  at  least  for  a  considerable 
time.  The  factory  and  the  workshop  will  continue 
to  be  the  chief  places  for  practical  training  and  they 
will  be  supplemented  by  the  work  of  the  technical 
school  and  the  evening  class. 

In  the  Glasgow  and  West  of  Scotland  Technical 
College   (this  being  the  institution  in  this  country 


x  INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING  205 

with  which  I  am  best  acquainted)  there  are  courses 
of  instruction  in  the  following  departments  of  applied 
science,  namely:  — 

1 .  Civil  Engineering  6.  Chemical  Engineering 

2.  Mechanical  Engineering  7.  Metallurgy 

3.  Naval  Architecture  8.  Mining  Engineering 

4.  Electrical  Engineering  9.  Agriculture 

5 .  Architecture 

The  ordinary  courses  of  study  extend  over  three 
years,  and  are  educationally  on  about  the  same  plane 
as  university  or  college  classes,  and  they  represent 
fairly  well  the  main  departments  of  professional 
industry. 

For  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  however,  it  is 
quite  evident  that  for  some  time  to  come  almost  all 
the  higher  and  special  education  must  be  given  in  the 
evening  classes,  and  this  in  conjunction  with  the  prac- 
tical training  in  the  workshops  during  the  day  will 
produce  better  results  than  a  highly  elaborate  system 
of  day  schools.  British  engineers  and  British  work- 
men generally  have  been  able  to  hold  their  own  with 
their  Continental  competitors  in  almost  all  the  chief 
industries,  on  account  of  their  good  practical  training 
and  sound  common  sense,  two  faculties  which  are  not 
possessed  in  marked  degree  by  those  who  have  spent 
an  undue  proportion  of  their  time  at  schools  or  col- 
leges. Such  institutions  may  make  arrangements  for 
a  more  systematic  course  of  instruction  in  the  sub- 
jects relating  to  a  trade,  but  they  cannot  impart  the 
true  spirit  of  the  manufacturer,  which  is  only  to  be 
got  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  actual  workshop  or 
factory.     The  combination  of  experience  in  the  work- 


206  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

shops  and  study  in  the  evening  classes  prevents  that 
disinclination  to  hard  manual  work  which  not  infre- 
quently accompanies  long  continuance  at  a  college  or 
university.  Social  health  depends  upon  men  doing 
"the  duty  which  lies  nearest  them"  well,  and  the 
first  duty  of  workmen  is  to  be  able  to  use  their  tools 
in  an  efficient  manner,  and  a  smattering  of  science 
will  afford  little  help  to  them  in  this. 

The  evening  courses  in  the  Glasgow  and  West  of 
Scotland  Technical  College  are  — 

i .   Mathematics  and  Physics         8.   Mining 


2. 

Chemistry 

9- 

Metallurgy 

3- 

Mechanical  Engineering 

IO. 

Agriculture 

4- 

Naval  Architecture 

II. 

Chemical  Industries 

5- 

Electrical  Engineering 

12. 

Textile  Industries 

6. 

Architecture 

13- 

Art  Industries 

7- 

Building  Construction 

14. 

Commerce 

These  are  wide  enough  to  include  all  the  industries 
of  the  country,  for  the  earlier  parts  of  the  courses  are 
devoted  to  the  more  general  subjects,  and  the  latter 
more  particularly  to  those  which  the  students  require 
in  their  daily  work. 

If  we  had  a  proper  and  adequate  system  of  element- 
ary and  secondary  education,  the  great  majority  of 
those   engaged  in  trades  and  crafts  could 

Arrange-  °    ° 

ments  for  get  all  they  required  in  the  way  of  further 
ofAppren-  formal  instruction  from  properly  organised 
evening  classes  during  the  time  they  were 
serving  their  apprenticeships.  No  one  should  be 
considered  a  journeyman  until  he  is  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  however  long  he  may  have  been  in  the  work- 
shops, although  those  who  had  been  at  least  five  years 
should  be  ranked  as  improvers  and  receive  wages  in 


X  INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING  207 

proportion  to  their  skill.  This  stipulation  is  necessary 
to  ensure  a  proper  physical  development  and,  in  order 
to  encourage  that  still  further,  overtime  should  be 
absolutely  forbidden  to  all  under  twenty-one,  and  even 
beyond  this  age  should  only  be  allowed  in  special  emer- 
gencies. Probably,  however,  the  stipulation  would  not 
be  necessary  after  some  time,  for  in  almost  all  the 
trades  requiring  skill  and  knowledge  sixteen  is  coming 
to  be  regarded  as  the  proper  age  for  an  apprentice  to 
start.  Moreover,  there  is  a  growing  demand  among 
the  working-classes  and  especially  among  the  trade 
unionists  that  full  opportunity  should  be  given  for  the 
physical  development  of  boys  and  girls  ;  they  are  be- 
ginning to  see  the  economic  bearings  of  the  subject, 
and  especially  that  the  extensive  employment  of  young 
persons  leads  to  the  reduction  of  the  remuneration  of 
adults.  They  in  short  recognise  the  importance  of 
securing  that  the  workers  of  the  future  shall  not  only 
be  adequately  trained  in  mind  but  also  properly  de- 
veloped in  body. 

A  minimum  of  at  least  three  years  in  the  workshops 
should  be  required  of  all  who  are  admitted  as  journey- 
men. Arrangements  would  thus  be  made  which  would 
suit  the  convenience  and  acquirements  of  boys  both 
from  the  elementary  and  the  secondary  schools,  and 
also  of  students  of  colleges  and  universities,  for  it 
would  evidently  be  unfair  to  subject  all  to  the  same 
length  of  apprenticeship.  The  latter  class  especially 
would  be  able  to  make  more  rapid  progress  than  the 
younger  boys,  not  only  on  account  of  their  greater 
age,  but  also  because  of  their  better  preliminary 
training. 

If   the  trade  unions  and  the  employers   took   an 


208  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

interest  in  the  training  of  apprentices,  the  problems 
of  technical  education  would  soon  be  solved  at  com- 
paratively small  expense.  All  apprentices  should  be 
required  to  attend  an  evening  school  two  or  three 
evenings  a  week,  and  no  certificates  of  apprenticeship 
should  be  given  except  to  those  who  have  fulfilled 
the  required  conditions,  both  as  regards  theory  and 
practice. 

There  ought  in  my  opinion  to  be  three  grades  of 
examination.  The  first  should  be  suited  to  the  ac- 
quirements of  those  who  have  been  in  the  workshops 
for  at  least  five  years,  and  who  have  attended  a  few 
elementary  classes  in  general  subjects  and  in  the 
theory  of  their  special  departments.  This  examina- 
tion need  not  be  very  difficult  either  on  the  theoreti- 
cal or  practical  side,  but  should  be  sufficient  to  test 
whether  the  candidates  were  able  to  do  an  average 
day's  work,  and  at  the  same  time  knew  the  elements 
of  the  principles  involved.  The  second  grade  should 
have  a  higher  standard  in  the  theoretical  subjects, 
and  those  who  passed  it  should  get  off  with  four  years 
in  the  workshops  as  apprentices ;  while  the  third 
should  be  higher  still,  and  only  require  three  years  in 
the  workshops.  These  two  latter  examinations  would 
be  taken  by  those  who  aimed  at  being  foremen  or 
managers,  and  those  who  had  had  special  opportunities 
at  school  or  college. 

These  examinations  should  be  conducted  by  joint 
committees  of  employers  and  employed,  assisted  where 
necessary  by  special  experts  either  in  theory  or  prac- 
tice, somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the  craft  guilds  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  We  require,  in  short,  a  develop- 
ment of  the  trade  unions  and  the  associations  of  em- 


X  INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING  209 

ployers  into  modern  trade  guilds.  We  will  consider 
the  possible  constitution  and  some  of  the  main  objects 
of  these  guilds  in  a  subsequent  chapter ;  but  it  is  evi- 
dent that  one  very  obvious  function  which  they  would 
perform  would  be  the  regulation  of  the  conditions 
of  admission  of  members  and  the  method  of  their 
training. 

The  education  of  our  artisans,  both  in  theory  and 
practice,  should  be  as  complete  as  possible,  so  that 
the  mobility  of  their  labour  may  be  increased  and 
they  may  be  able  to  change — within  certain  limits, 
of  course — the  nature  of  their  occupation,  and  thus 
adapt  themselves  to  any  modification  which  may  take 
place  in  their  environment,  and  so  be  in  a  position 
to  reduce  the  hardship  which  would  otherwise  arise. 
We  are  still  a  long  way,  however,  from  the  time, 
which  must  come  eventually,  when  compensation  will 
be  given  for  disturbances  and  losses  arising  from 
economic  causes  beyond  the  control  of  those  directly 
affected. 

The  combined  training  in  theory  and  practice  given 
in  the  manner  I  have  described  would  as  a  rule  be 
found  sufficient,  but  in  certain    industries,     special 
especially  those  of  an  artistic  nature  or  de-     and°°ls 
manding  minute  manipulation,  it  might  be     Classes, 
necessary  to  have  special  classes  to  supplement  the 
training  to  be  obtained  in  the  workshop  or  manufac- 
tory.    Moreover,  in  the  mechanical  departments  the 
work  has  become  so  specialised  that  it  is  advisable  to 
give  opportunities  to  the  apprentices  of  obtaining  a  fair 
knowledge  of  departments  other  than  those  in  which 
they  are  chiefly  engaged.     Besides,  there  are  many 
members  of  the  community  who,  although  they  may 


2IO  THE  EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

not  wish  to  learn  a  trade,  will  find  it  useful  or  enjoyable 
to  employ  part  of  their  leisure  time  in  mechanical  or 
artistic  pursuits.  For  all  these,  special  trade  classes 
or  schools  will  be  necessary.  The  actual  practice  of 
the  trade,  however,  should  be  confined  to  establish- 
ments which  are  conducted  on  commercial  principles, 
so  that  the  learners  may  be  kept  in  touch  with  the 
latest  developments  and  requirements.  There  can 
be  little  doubt  that  as  society  evolves,  and  municipal 
and  State  undertakings  increase,  Ruskin's  ideal  will 
be  attained,  and  there  will  be  Government  establish- 
ments for  every  trade,  in  which  all  youths  so  desirous 
will  be  received  as  apprentices  on  their  leaving  school. 
In  fact  these  establishments  will  simply  be  extensions 
of  the  schools,  and  will  form  their  necessary  comple- 
ments, and  the  apprentices  will  be  thoroughly  trained 
in  their  trades,  and  not,  as  is  too  often  the  case  at 
present,  be  employed  simply  on  account  of  the  cheap- 
ness of  their  labour.  As  the  community  benefits  by 
the  improvements  which  take  place  in  industry,  it  is 
no  injustice  to  require  it  to  pay  for  the  training  of 
those  who  carry  on  that  industry.  Such  an  evolution 
must  be  brought  about  very  slowly,  for  unless  accom- 
panied by  an  intellectual  and  moral  development,  it 
might  lead  to  disastrous  consequences. 

'  The  scientific  training  required  in  the  different 
departments  of  agriculture  is  now  beginning  to  receive 
the  attention  it  deserves,  and  classes  are  being  in- 
stituted all  over  the  country,  in  connection  with 
which  practical  training  is  also  given  in  some  of  the 
subjects.  In  this,  however,  as  in  other  departments, 
it  is  highly  desirable  to  insist  on  systematic  study 
and  training,  and  not  to  be  content  with  short  courses 


x  INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING  211 

of  popular  lectures,  which  too  often  only  fritter  away 
both  time  and  money,  and  lead  to  few  useful  results. 
At  the  same  time  it  would  be  quite  possible  to  give 
such  instruction  in  agriculture  and  horticulture  in  our 
public  schools,  and  especially  in  the  evening  classes, 
as  would  lead  to  a  very  great  development  of  their 
practice  among  the  people  generally. 

The  number  and  nature  of  the  classes  required  for 
instruction  in  the  subjects  connected  with  special 
industries  would  vary  according  to  the  requirements 
of  the  different  districts.  The  programme  and  sylla- 
buses of  the  City  and  Guilds  of  London  Institute 
represent  not  only  the  chief  industries  in  the  country, 
but  also  indicate  very  fairly  the  manner  in  which  the 
subjects  ought  to  be  treated,  and  the  course  of  study 
which  is  necessary  for  anything  like  a  complete  cur- 
riculum. Those  who  are  taking  an  interest  in  the 
organisation  of  such  classes  should  consult  these 
syllabuses,  and  modify  them  to  suit  local  conditions. 

It  must  be  recognised  that  the  mere  organisation 
of  educational  institutions  is  not  sufficient  to  make 
the  more  practical  parts  of  education  a  real  success. 
It  must  be  supported  by  the  action  of  the  employers 
of  labour  and  by  the  force  of  public  opinion.  If  the 
employers  had  a  real  appreciation  of  the  need  of 
improved  education,  and  if  the  public,  instead  of 
hunting  after  cheap  bargains,  encouraged  the  produc- 
tion of  good  work,  the  schools  and  colleges  would  be 
in  little  danger  of  want  of  support.  This  is  especially 
true  of  those  connected  with  art.  We  may  rest 
assured  that  so  long  as  the  public  are  content  with 
cheap  imitations,  so  long  will  speculators  meet  their 
demands,  and  real  craftsmanship  be  impossible. 


212  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

In  every  department  of  industry  which  requires 
technical  knowledge  or  skill,  or  involves  the  safety  of 
the  workers  or  of  the  community,  there  should  be 
security  for  professional  or  trade  capacity.  This 
should  be  proved  by  such  examinations  as  I  have 
suggested,  which  would  be  carried  out  by  the  various 
educational  and  trades  organisations.  Moreover,  at- 
tention should  always  be  paid  to  moral  capacity. 
This  cannot  be  tested  so  directly  as  that  employed 
in  the  profession  or  trade,  but  persons  who  have  been 
found  guilty  of  misconduct  or  culpable  negligence 
should  for  some  time  be  deprived  of  their  right  to 
practise  their  trade  or  profession,  at  least  in  any 
public  capacity. 

One  of  the  most  important  branches  of  technical 
education  is  that  which  fits  for  commercial  work,  for 
without  it  a  great  part  of  the  advantages 
tionPfoi-a~  gained  by  higher  technical  skill  in  art  and 
daimwor"k  industry  may  be  lost.  On  the  Continent  it 
is  usual  to  have  special  institutions  for  com- 
mercial training,  but  in  this  department  as  well  as  in 
the  more  strictly  technical  it  is  better  to  follow  the 
British  custom  of  giving  preference  to  the  practical 
side  of  the  work.  Here  again  the  evening  classes 
will  perform  a  most  useful  function. 

If  the  scholars  have  obtained  a  good  general  educa- 
tion in  a  secondary  school,  in  which  special  attention 
had  been  paid  to  modern  languages  and  the  other 
subjects  of  importance  in  commercial  pursuits,  the 
majority  of  them  could  easily  obtain  all  they  required 
in  addition  from  properly  organised  evening  classes. 
These,  in  combination  with  the  practical  training  to 
be  acquired  in  the  counting-house  or  manufactory, 


INDUSTRIAL   TRAINING 


213 


would  afford  a  more  generally  useful  introduction  to 
mercantile  work  than  could  possibly  be  given  in  any 
special  educational  institution  which  had  no  connec- 
tion with  practical  business.  If  merchants  and  others 
insisted  on  all  those  who  entered  their  offices  holding 
the  leaving-certificate  of  a  good  secondary  school,  and 
if  during  their  apprenticeship  they  further  insisted 
upon  their  attendance  on  a  certain  number  of  evening 
classes  and  obtaining  a  higher  commercial  certificate, 
the  problem  of  commercial  education  could  be  easily 
solved. 

The  colleges  and  universities,  however,  might  sup- 
plement the  work  of  the  evening  classes.  There  are 
many  subjects  taught  in  these  institutions  which 
might  be  of  great  service  to  those  engaged  in  com- 
merce or  industry,  and  there  are  no  reasons  why  a 
class  should  not  be  taken  each  year,  after  the  young 
men  have  commenced  business,  or  at  any  rate  after 
they  have  completed  the  course  of  the  evening  classes. 
Moreover,  this  combination  of  study  and  work  would 
not  only  be  a  good  thing  in  itself,  but  would  also  add 
to  the  enjoyment  of  those  who  took  part  in  it,  by 
making  their  lives  fuller  in  the  true  sense  of  this  term. 

In  this  country  some  employers  insist  on  all  their 
apprentices    taking    advantage    of    evening    classes 
which  bear  on  their  trade,  and  require  them 
to  show  that  they  have  a  fairly  good  knowl-  12™™ 
edge  of  the  theory  of  it  before  they  com-  J^jJ" 
plete  their  apprenticeship,  but  this  practice 
is  neither  universal  nor  systematic.     The  amendment 
to  the  German  Industrial  Code  which  was  passed  in 
1 89 1   lays  down  very  strict  regulations  on  apprentice 
relations,  and  contains  the  following  enactments :  — 


214  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

"The  master  shall  be  bound  to  instruct  the  appren- 
tice in  all  branches  of  the  work  of  the  trade  forming 
part  of  his  business,  in  due  succession  and  to  the 
extent  necessary  for  the  complete  mastery  of  the 
trade  or  handicraft.  He  must  conduct  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  apprentice  himself,  or  through  a  fit  repre- 
sentative expressly  appointed  thereto.  He  shall  not 
deprive  the  apprentice  of  the  necessary  time  and 
opportunity  on  Sundays  and  holidays  for  his  educa- 
tion and  for  attendance  at  Divine  Service  by  employ- 
ing him  in  other  kinds  of  service.  He  shall  train  his 
apprentice  in  habits  of  diligence  and  in  good  morals, 
and  shall  keep  him  from  evil  courses.  The  appren- 
tice shall  be  placed  under  the  parental  discipline  of 
the  master.  He  shall  be  bound  to  render  obedience 
to  the  one  who  conducts  his  instruction  in  the  place 
of  the  master."  The  relations  may  be  dissolved  on 
the  part  of  the  apprentice  "  if  the  master  neglects  his 
legal  obligations  towards  the  apprentice  in  a  manner 
endangering  the  health,  morals  or  education  of  the 
apprentice,  or  if  he  abuses  his  right  of  parental  disci- 
pline, or  becomes  incapable  of  fulfilling  the  obliga- 
tions imposed  upon  him  by  the  contract."  Portions 
of  these  regulations  are  somewhat  too  grandmotherly 
to  suit  our  ideas;  still  they  indicate  the  nature  of  the 
arrangements  which  are  necessary  in  order  to  make 
the  training  of  apprentices  really  efficient. 

We   must   avoid   the   mistake   of   supposing   that 

scientific  and  technical  education  by  itself 
andOMc  wn"l  be  sufficient  either  for  individual  or 
Nation  national  wants.    A  man's  usefulness  depends 

much  more  on  what  he  is  than  on  what  he 
knows,  and  industry,  courage,  endurance  and  integ- 


X  INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING  21 5 

rity  are  much  more  valuable  qualities  than  the  ability 
to  pass  examinations  either  in  general  or  technical 
subjects.  Technical  training  by  itself  may  make  use- 
ful appendages  to  machines,  but  it  will  never  make 
leaders  of  men,  who  are  qualified  by  their  trained 
intelligence  and  liberal  culture  to  organise  and  guide 
the  great  industrial  undertakings  of  the  world,  not 
only  through  their  technical  but  also  through  their 
economic  difficulties.  It  is  quite  evident  that  the 
problems  of  the  future  which  will  demand  the  greatest 
amount  of  attention  will  be  of  an  economic  and  not 
simply  of  a  mechanical  nature  ;  and  they  will  require 
for  their  solution  men  who  have  been  educated  in  a 
most  thorough  manner,  and  thus  fitted  to  understand 
all  the  factors  of  which  they  are  composed.  If  we 
wish  our  country  to  retain  its  position  among  the 
foremost  nations  of  the  world,  we  must  recognise  that 
neither  technical  skill  nor  scientific  knowledge  will 
avail  much  unless  they  are  combined  with  breadth  of 
economic  and  political  vision,  and  with  depth  of  social 
feeling  on  the  part  of  the  citizens.  The  culture  of 
the  individual  is  therefore  among  the  prime  necessi- 
ties of  human  well-being,  and  it  is  a  grave  mistake  to 
attach  exclusive  importance  either  to  outward  circum- 
stances or  to  the  training  required  for  practical  work. 
All  experience  proves  that  the  spiritual  is  the  parent 
and  first  cause  of  the  practical,  and  the  economic  his- 
tory of  the  Middle  Ages  especially  shows  us  that  an 
ounce  of  manly  pride  and  enthusiasm  is  worth  more 
than  a  pound  of  technical  skill. 

Aristotle  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  education  should  be  adapted 
to  the  conditions  of  each  country,  and  particularly  in 


2l6  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

democratic  countries  education  should  prepare  the 
young  for  democratic  institutions ;  and  this  opinion 
was  embodied  in  the  old  Greek  education.  Our 
legislators  have  only  recently  discovered  the  impor- 
tance of  this  aspect  of  education,  and  have  tried  to 
embody  it  in  our  national  system.  The  syllabus  on 
"The  Life  and  Duties  of  the  Citizen  "  which  appears 
in  the  Code  of  Evening  Continuation  Schools,  should, 
if  properly  used,  be  of  great  service  to  teachers  in 
indicating  the  main  points  which  require  their  atten- 
tion ;  and  if  the  instruction  be  intelligently  and  faith- 
fully given,  it  should  before  long  help  to  remove  some 
of  our  social  difficulties,  not  only  by  the  information 
which  is  given  regarding  our  national  institutions,  but 
much  more  by  the  principles  which  ought  to  be  kept 
in  mind  by  all  citizens,  and  especially  by  directing 
attention  to  the  fact  that,  as  the  individual  benefits 
from  a  well-ordered  community,  so  the  community 
ought  to  benefit  in  its  turn  from  the  efforts  of  the 
individual,  and  that  "all  for  each"  should  be  requited 
by  "each  for  all." 

Moreover,  it  must  always  be  remembered  that 
industrial  prosperity  is  impossible  without  due  atten- 
tion to  physical  condition;  and  hence  a  very  neces- 
sary part  of  the  education  of  the  workers  is  a  sound 
knowledge  of  the  laws  of  health,  and  a  determination 
not  only  to  conform  to  them  personally,  but  also  to 
insist  on  the  community  generally  conforming  to 
them.  As  Professor  Huxley  has  pointed  out :  "  Our 
sole  chance  of  succeeding  in  a  competition  which 
must  constantly  become  more  and  more  severe,  is 
that  our  people  shall  not  only  have  the  knowledge 
and  the  skill  which  are  required,  but  that  they  shall 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING 


217 


have  the  will  and  the  energy  and  the  honesty,  with- 
out which  neither  knowledge  nor  skill  can  be  of  any 
permanent  avail.  This  is  what  I  mean  by  a  stable 
social  condition,  because  any  other  condition  than 
this,  any  social  condition  in  which  the  development 
of  wealth  involves  the  misery,  the  physical  weakness, 
and  the  degradation  of  the  worker,  is  absolutely  and 
infallibly  doomed  to  collapse.  Your  bayonets  and 
cutlasses  will  break  under  your  hand,  and  there  will 
go  on  accumulating  in  society  a  mass  of  hopeless, 
physically  incompetent,  and  morally  degraded  people, 
who  are,  as  it  were,  a  sort  of  dynamite  which  sooner 
or  later,  when  its  accumulation  becomes  sufficient  and 
its  tension  intolerable,  will  burst  the  whole  fabric."  * 

It  is  a  good  many  years  since  Professor  Fawcett 
expressed  the  opinion  that  "probably  the  greatest 
good  to  be  ultimately  anticipated  from  education  is 
to  render  possible  the  realisation  of  higher  forms 
of  social  industrial  development."2  "It  seems,"  he 
said,  "to  be  too  frequently  supposed  that  the  way 
in  which  industry  is  at  present  carried  on  is  nec- 
essary and  inevitable.  If  this  were  so,  we  might 
despair  of  future  progress ;  it  is  impossible  for  a 
country  to  obtain  a  position  of  high  social  advance- 
ment if  the  various  classes  who  are  concerned  in 
industry  are  as  completely  separated  from  each  other 
by  distinct  pecuniary  interests  as  they  are  in  Eng- 
land at  the  present  time." 

Professor  Fawcett  was  strongly  in  favour  of  the 
co-operative  movement,  although  it  seems  to  me  he 
failed  to  perceive  its  logical  developments.     A  neces- 

1  Collected  works.     Science  and  Education,  p.  447. 

2  Pauperism,  its  Causes  and  Remedies,  p.  143. 


2l8  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

sary  adjunct  to  industrial  training  is  instruction,  not 
only  in  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  citizenship, 
but  also  in  the  relations  of  the  different  social  move- 
ments which  are  all  going  on  at  the  same  time,  in 
order  to  ascertain  how  far  they  are  all  tending  in 
the  same  direction.  A  careful  study  will  show  that 
individualism,  co-operation,  trade  unionism  and  the 
various  forms  of  municipal  and  State  control  are 
alike  necessary  for  the  social  and  industrial  organisa- 
tion of  the  future  ;  and  although  in  some  respects 
they  may  seem  to  be  opposed,  they  are  all  tending 
to  a  state  of  society  in  which  the  welfare  of  all 
the  members  will  be  the  chief  object  kept  in  view, 
and  under  which  the  conditions  will  allow,  at  least 
in  all  artistic  products,  the  free  play  of  individuality, 
and  without  which  there  can  be  no  real  pleasure  to 
the  workers: 

Probably  the  most  important  department  of  tech- 
nical education  in  the  future  will  be  that  in  which 

the  students  are  trained  to  apply  art  to  in- 
Applica-  .,,.,/ 

tionofArt    dustry,  for  not  only  will  it  be  of  great  and 

to  Industry.    .  •  i         r  •    A      c 

increasing  value  from  an  economic  point  of 
view,  but  it  will  add  immensely  to  the  happiness  of 
the  workers,  and  revolutionise  our  ideas  regarding 
the  organisation  of  labour.  It  is,  indeed,  to  the 
reorganised  workshop  that  we  must  chiefly  look 
for  the  basis  of  Citizenship,  for  the  general  social 
conditions  of  the  people  depend  to  a  very  large 
extent  on  the  conditions  under  which  they  do  their 
work. 

One  of  the  most  marked  results  of  the  modern 
system  of  competitive  commerce  has  been  the  sup- 
pression of  popular  art,  so  that  the  greater  part  of 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING 


219 


the  people  has  no  share  in  it.  It  is  for  the  most  part 
kept  in  the  hands  of  a  few  rich  or  well-to-do  people, 
who  seem  to  patronise  it  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of 
gratifying  their  own  vanity.  Their  houses  are  filled 
with  expensive  objects,  each  charming  in  itself,  but 
out  of  harmony  with  all  the  rest.  In  many  palatial 
residences  everything  is  equally  new  and  equally 
innocent  of  the  imprint  of  the  owner's  personality. 
The  rooms  have  been  handed  over  to  the  upholsterers 
and  decorators,  and  while  they  call  forth  rapturous 
commendations  from  those  who  do  not  realise  the 
difference  between  a  dwelling-place  and  a  shop, 
they  are  entirely  awanting  in  the  true  artistic 
spirit. 

In  the  present  day  the  artist  and  the  workman  are 
seldom  if  ever  combined  as  they  were  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  The  workers  have  thus  not  merely  lost  the 
natural  solace  of  their  labour,  but  also  the  means  of 
expressing  their  personalities  through  it.  They  have 
in  fact  become  for  the  most  part  mere  appendages  to 
machines  or  parts  of  a  mercantile  system  under  which 
it  is  impossible  for  true  art  to  flourish.  If  we  had 
an  adequate  system  of  art  instruction  under  suitable 
conditions,  and  high  ideals  of  duty  and  of  life,  there 
would  soon  be  brought  about  a  combination  of  art 
with  daily  work,  and  especially  with  industry,  which 
would  not  simply  add  to  the  happiness  of  the  workers 
and  the  people  generally,  but  also  to  the  real  wealth 
of  the  country  ;  for  art  products  are  the  only  perma- 
nent ultimate  products  of  human  industry. 

As  the  artistic  spirit  developed  it  would  more  and 
more  find  its  expression  in  the  civic  and  national  life, 
and  its  great  efforts  would  be  exerted  on  our  munici- 


220  THE  EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

pal  and  national  buildings  and  monuments.  In 
ancient  Greece  art  existed  for  the  people,  and  the 
artists  worked  not  for  individuals,  but  for  the  nation, 
and  the  public  buildings  embodied  their  ideals  of 
form  and  beauty.  In  Italy  during  the  Renaissance, 
the  supreme  efforts  of  the  artists  were  put  forth  for 
the  people,  and  the  churches  and  palaces  of  the  land 
were  the  great  art  museums  of  mediaeval  times.  In 
Britain  also  during  feudal  times  the  same  was  true. 
Some  of  the  old  ideals  are  beginning  to  revive  in  the 
minds  of  our  modern  civic  authorities,  and  attempts 
are  made,  it  must  be  confessed  very  often  in  a  not 
very  artistic  manner,  to  make  our  cities  beautiful, 
and  to  provide  opportunities  to  the  citizens  of  study- 
ing works  of  art  and  enjoying  good  music.  When 
these  have  extended,  the  demand  that  their  daily 
work  shall  be  pleasant  will  be  strengthened,  and  then 
art  will  be  representative  of  social  and  industrial  con- 
ditions, as  it  was  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  civic  and  national  institutions  for  the  teaching 
of  the  highest  forms  of  art  and  for  the  display  of  the 
best  specimens  would  gradually  become  the  most  im- 
portant in  the  land,  and  would  be  open  to  all  classes 
of  the  community  who  were  able  to  make  proper  use 
of  them.  They  must,  however,  be  kept  free  from  all 
unnecessary  officialism  and  routine,  which  crush  out 
originality,  and  convert  the  students  into  hod-workers 
quite  as  much  as  the  worst  forms  of  the  factory  sys- 
tem. True  artists,  on  the  other  hand,  become  creators 
of  vital  forces,  and  their  influence  endures  long  after 
the  acts  of  the  statesmen  and  rulers  of  their  times 
have  been  forgotten. 

In  the  older  professions  of  the  Church,  Law  and 


x  INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING  221 

Medicine,  it  is  possible  to  draw  a  line  which  will  in- 
clude all  the  members,  for  the  entrance  to     „  ,  . 

Relation 

each  is  strictly  guarded  by  conditions  which  of  Trades  to 

nii  r  ,     ,  Industrial 

prevent  all  who  have  not  conformed  thereto   Professions 
from  exercising  the  functions  or  enjoying     General 
any  of  the  privileges  of  membership.  Culture. 

In  the  new  professions  connected  with  industry 
it  is  at  present  neither  possible  nor  desirable  to 
attempt  to  draw  any  such  line.  The  boundary  be- 
tween handicrafts  and  scientific  pursuits  is  becoming 
effaced.  The  name  "  engineer,"  for  instance,  is  ap- 
plied to  persons  who  not  only  follow  many  different 
kinds  of  occupation,  but  also  whose  qualifications  and 
training  are  of  very  different  standards,  and  is  made 
to  include  simple  operatives  and  distinguished  men 
of  science.  Indeed,  many  of  the  most  distinguished 
members  of  the  profession  have  commenced  at  the 
lowest  positions  as  tradesmen,  and  by  the  force  of 
their  genius  and  a  process  of  self-education  have  car- 
ried out  some  of  the  greatest  works  in  the  world. 
There  can  be  little  doubt,  however,  that  such  men 
are  becoming  scarcer,  and  the  tendency  is  for  each 
department  of  industrial  work  to  become  more  and 
more  specialised,  and  to  have  a  course  of  training 
suited  to  its  requirements.  The  numerous  societies 
and  institutions  which  are  being  founded,  moreover, 
all  tend  to  guard  the  entrance  to  the  various  indus- 
trial professions,  and  to  regulate  the  course  of  train- 
ing as  in  the  case  of  the  older  professions,  although 
still  in  a  somewhat  haphazard  manner.  A  certain 
number  of  years  in  a  responsible  position,  which 
generally  implies  considerable  practical  experience 
as  well  as  theoretical  knowledge,  is  the  usual  condi- 


222  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

tion  of  admission.  The  responsibility  of  estimat- 
ing the  professional  position  of  candidates  is  thus 
thrown  on  the  public,  and  especially  on  the  employ- 
ers of  labour.  Some  of  the  industrial  professions 
and  trades  have  now  an  entrance  examination,  which 
admits  at  least  to  the  lower  grades  of  their  member- 
ship. This  is  especially  desirable  when  the  work  to 
be  done  is  closely  connected  with  the  health  or  safety 
of  the  public,  and  no  doubt  ultimately  each  branch  of 
industry  will  have  its  special  requirements  as  regards 
training  both  in  theory  and  practice.  Still  it  must 
always  be  possible  for  those  who  have  duly  quali- 
fied themselves  to  pass  from  the  trade  to  the  pro- 
fessional part  of  their  work,  and  on  the  other  hand 
it  is  necessary  that  those  who  begin  with  the  pros- 
pect of  the  higher  work  should  have  sufficient  practi- 
cal experience  to  enable  them  at  least  to  understand 
all  the  operations  involved,  although  they  may  not  be 
able  to  carry  them  out  personally.  These  latter,  as  a 
rule,  will  take  a  College  or  University  day  course, 
either  before  or  along  with  their  practical  training 
in  the  workshop  or  manufactory,  and  thus  obtain  a 
knowledge  both  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  their 
profession.  By  selecting  a  suitable  course  of  study, 
the  students  will  be  able  to  obtain  a  good  general 
training  in  the  theory  of  their  work,  and  they  can 
afterwards  easily  add  such  special  subjects  as  they 
find  necessary. 

A  great  deal  might  be  said  about  the  higher  day 
classes  in  schools  and  colleges  for  instruction  in 
scientific  and  industrial  subjects,  and  of  the  courses 
of  study  carried  out  in  them  ;  but,  for  details,  refer- 
ence must  be  made  to  special  papers  and  books,  and 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING 


223 


to  the  prospectuses  which  are  published  regarding 
them.  In  all,  the  instruction  should  be  made  real 
and  thorough  by  means  of  experimental  and  graphical 
work,  and  the  aim  of  the  teachers  should  always  be 
to  cultivate  the  thinking  powers  of  their  students, 
and  to  enable  them,  from  the  data  which  may  be 
supplied  to  them,  to  solve  the  problems  which  are 
likely  to  arise  in  the  practice  of  their  profession. 

To  those  who  are  not  able  to  take  advantage  of 
such  day  classes,  and  who  must  begin  with  the 
ordinary  routine  of  the  workshop  or  manufactory 
practice,  the  evening  classes  afford  the  means,  not 
only  of  qualifying  in  the  theory  of  that  practice  in 
the  manner  which  I  have  described,  but  also  of 
rising  to  the  higher  professional  parts  of  their  work. 
Advanced  evening  classes  are  now  conducted  which 
are  on  an  educational  level  with  many  college  classes, 
while  the  assistance  which  is  available  to  properly 
qualified  students  in  the  shape  of  bursaries  and 
scholarships  is  sufficient,  at  least  with  an  effort  on 
their  part,  to  enable  them  to  pass  to  the  day  classes 
and  receive  the  highest  training  possible. 

One  of  the  most  useful  functions  of  the  evening 
classes  is  therefore  to  act  as  what  have  been  called 
"  capacity  catchers,"  or  steps  in  the  educational  ladder 
which  allow  all  the  latent  intellectual  power  in  the 
community  to  be  fully  taken  advantage  of.  The 
tendency  of  our  national  system  of  education  is  to 
reduce  all  minds  to  the  same  level  and  to  mould 
them  to  the  same  pattern.  Probably  this  is  inevitable 
to  a  certain  extent,  but  if  proper  methods  of  instruc- 
tion were  adopted  it  might  be  minimised.  Individual 
thought  should  be  stimulated  as  much  as  possible, 


224  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap,  x 

and  free  play  given  to  the  full  development  of 
personal  capacity.  Probably  for  those  who  are  to 
be  engaged  in  industrial  occupations  this  is  not  to  be 
best  done  by  first  subjecting  the  scholars  to  a  long 
and  uniform  school  or  college  discipline  which  will 
drive  all  originality  out  of  them,  but  by  a  judicious 
combination  of  practical  work  with  study  in  the 
evenings,  or  preferably  in  the  afternoons.  Those 
who  undergo  a  training  of  this  kind  will  as  a  rule 
turn  out  the  most  useful  members  of  society,  in  every 
sense  of  the  term,  for  they  will  be  disciplined  by 
practical  experience  and  by  intellectual  effort,  and 
have  sufficient  energy,  perseverance  and  force  of 
character  to  enable  them  to  overcome  any  difficulties 
which  may  come  before  them.  A  too  exclusively 
theoretical  course  of  training  is  very  apt  to  generate 
a  dislike  for  practical  work,  and  a  type  of  mind  of  a 
narrow  kind.  Those  engaged  in  industrial  occupa- 
tions should  take  a  broad  view  of  their  work  in  the 
world,  and  assist  in  carrying  it  out  in  such  a  manner 
as  will  benefit  not  only  those  directly  concerned,  but 
also  the  whole  community.  In  order  that  they  may 
do  this  in  an  effective  manner  they  should  not  con- 
fine themselves  to  those  subjects  which  are  of  direct 
application  in  their  work,  but  they  should  also  take 
up  those  of  a  more  general  nature,  which  would 
enable  them  to  rise  above  their  own  narrow  sphere, 
and  look  at  things  in  a  broad  and  liberal  spirit  and 
to  increase  their  own  happiness  and  the  welfare  of 
humanity.  The  detailed  consideration  of  those  more 
general  subjects  must  be  left  to  another  volume. 


CHAPTER    XI 

MODERN    INDUSTRIAL    GUILDS 

One  of  the  chief  results  of  a  thorough  system  of 
national  education,  in  which  special  attention  was  paid 
to  civic  duties,  would  be,  as  I  have  already  Intro_ 
stated,  to  raise  an  ideal  of  the  objects  of  life  ductory- 
and  of  the  organisation  of  industry,  which  would  enable 
the  great  body  of  the  people  to  attain  a  much  higher 
degree  of  welfare  than  is  at  present  possible.  In  the 
process  of  evolution  towards  this  ideal,  the  agencies 
which  at  present  control  industry  would  be  modified 
and  their  aims  and  objects  considerably  elevated. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  trade  unions  and  the  com- 
binations of  employers  are  at  present  chiefly  fighting 
machines  for  maintaining  the  economic  interests  of 
the  members,  although  some  developments  are  taking 
place  which  indicate  a  wider  sphere  of  interest,  and  a 
broader  less  selfish  spirit.  There  is  still  room  for 
improvement.  While  the  conditions  of  society  are 
being  raised  by  education  and  legislation,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  unions  should  at  the  same  time  try  to  lead 
public  opinion,  not  only  as  regards  their  own  trades, 
but  also  in  all  matters  of  common  interest. 

The  aim  of  those  who  are  leaders  of  the  different 

movements  should  be  to  return,  to  a  certain  extent, 

to  the  fundamental  ideas  of  the  mediaeval  guilds,  and 

organise  modern  guilds,  composed  of  groups  of  men 

Q  225 


226  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

and  women  animated  by  common  principles  of  relig- 
ious and  industrial  faith,  and  united  for  the  satis- 
faction of  the  permanent  needs  of  human  life.  Such 
a  faith  is  the  only  force  which  can  keep  together  any 
form  of  associated  society,  and  such  a  faith  will  grow. 
While  the  older  forms  of  religion  may  be  modified  or 
disappear,  their  places  will  be  taken  by  others  founded 
on  a  wider  inspiration  of  science  and  philosophy, 
which  will  unite  all  the  members  of  the  commu- 
nity in  the  common  object  of  advancing  the  social 
welfare. 

Membership  of  such  guilds  should  be  considered 
one  of  the  essential  duties  of  citizenship,  and  should 
be  enforced,  if  not  by  positive  enactment,  at  least  by 
public  opinion.  Like  the  physical  body,  the  social 
body  must  have  an  adequate  organisation  in  order 
that  its  functions  may  be  performed  in  an  efficient 
manner,  and  that  it  may  be  enabled  to  remain  in  a 
healthy  condition.  I  have  said  that  the  trade  union 
has  been  called  the  public  school  of  the  working- 
man,  the  industrial  guild  might  become  his  uni- 
versity. 

Such  an  ideal  is  being  entertained  by  the  most 
enlightened  representatives  of  the  trade  unionists. 
One  of  them  has  said,  "  Everywhere  we  are  met  with 
the  cry  that  we  are  losing  our  trade  because  the  qual- 
ity of  our  manufactures  deteriorates.  Under  the  ex- 
isting system  they  will  continue  to  do  so  until  our 
trade  policy  becomes  '  better  work '  rather  than  '  more 
work.'  Everything  is  being  sacrificed  to  the  cry  of 
'  more  work '  and  even  the  character  of  the  workers 
will  suffer  as  long  as  this  is  made  the  first  object.  A 
modern  trade  guild  might  therefore  fitly  consider  if 


xt  MODERN  INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS 


227 


the  old  apprenticeship  system  might  not  be  revived 
with  interest  and  advantage  to  all  concerned.  The 
division  of  labour  is  now  carried  out  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  good  all-round  workman  of  the  old-fashioned 
stamp  is  more  and  more  difficult  to  meet  with.  Em- 
ployers frequently  complain  that  they  cannot  obtain 
such  men,  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  their  own  method 
of  using  boy  labour  is  entirely  to  blame  for  the  evil. 
The  boy  is  not  now  trained  that  he  may  become  a 
generally  skilful  workman,  but  that  he  may  produce 
as  much  profit  as  possible  to  his  employer.  To  make 
the  boy  a  master  of  his  trade  is  no  part  of  the  bar- 
gain. Such  guilds  might  also  take  up  the  kindred 
subject  of  technical  education,  so  closely  allied  with 
that  of  the  workshop  training  of  the  young.  Even 
apart  from  the  employers,  it  would  be  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  Unions  to  assist  the  spread  of  technical 
knowledge  among  their  members,  by  raising  scholar- 
ships and  establishing  classes  to  develop  among  their 
members  the  scientific  knowledge  of  their  trades.  To 
give  to  them  the  brains  as  well  as  the  manual  skill  of 
their  industry,  will  not  only  do  much  to  keep  down 
the  number  of  their  unemployed  and  increase  their 
membership,  but  solidly  impress  upon  the  minds  of 
the  employers  that  unionists  are  indeed  the  pick  of 
British  artisans.  This  may  be  deemed  a  somewhat 
Utopian  idea,  but  in  an  age  when  the  increasing 
severity  of  competition  for  the  work  of  the  world 
makes  absolute  co-operation  between  capital  and  la- 
bour more  and  more  a  national  necessity,  I  hope  to 
see   the    practical   accomplishment    of    this   ideal." * 

1  John  Burnett,  The  Claims  of  Labour,  p.  37. 


228  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

With  such  an  organisation  it  would  be  possible  to 
meet  all  the  reasonable  demands  of  labour  without 
much  difficulty. 

As  social  and  economic  conditions  improve  there 
will  be  a  gradual  approximation  between  the  objects 
Objects  of  and  methods  of  the  different  industrial  or- 
the  Guilds,  ganisations,  and  by  the  integration  of  their 
effective  components  there  will  be  evolved  new  organ- 
isations, which  will  include  all  classes  of  the  com- 
munity-workers, employers  and  the  general  public. 

These  modern  industrial  guilds,  as  they  might  be 
called,  will  take  steps  to  ensure  the  adequate  train- 
ing, both  in  theory  and  practice,  of  the  workers,  some- 
what in  the  manner  described  in  a  previous  chapter, 
and  at  the  same  time  give  every  encouragement  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  general  intelligence  of  the 
members  and  especially  as  regards  their  civic  duties 
and  responsibilities.  It  is  a  common  complaint 
against  trade  unions,  that  they  obstruct  the  produc- 
tion of  wealth,  by  discouraging  industry  and  improve- 
ments in  machinery  or  management,  that  they  do 
little  or  nothing  to  improve  the  skill  of  their  mem- 
bers and  take  no  direct  interest  in  their  civic  edu- 
cation. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  there  are  some 
grounds  for  these  charges,  and  the  guilds  should  see 
it  to  be  their  duty  to  have  them  removed  and  en- 
deavour to  make  their  members  as  efficient  as  possi- 
ble, not  merely  as  workers  but  also  as  citizens.  In 
order  to  meet  the  modern  requirements  in  the  differ- 
ent departments  of  industry,  joint  committees  of 
employers  and  workers,  under  the  regulations  laid 
down  by  the  general  body  of  members,  should  carry 


MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS 


229 


out  all  the  arrangements  necessary  to  enable  the 
apprentices  to  obtain  a  thorough  training  in  their 
own  departments,  combined  with  a  general  knowledge 
of  cognate  departments  and  of  civic  duties,  in  such 
a  manner  and  to  such  an  extent  as  would  lead  both 
to  the  production  of  the  maximum  amount  of  wealth, 
and  to  the  greatest  amount  of  public  welfare.  In 
order  that  this  may  be  the  case,  information  should 
be  collected  regarding  the  state  of  the  labour  market 
in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  in  different 
countries,  the  various  educational  institutions  and 
arrangements  of  use  to  the  members,  and  the  finan- 
cial and  industrial  questions  in  which  they  are  inter- 
ested. The  discussion  of  these  and  similar  subjects 
at  the  meetings  of  the  members  of  the  guilds  would 
become  a  most  effective  means  of  education  and  lead 
to  the  formation  of  a  sound  public  opinion  regarding 
them. 

The  guilds,  moreover,  should  watch  over  the  eco- 
nomic interests  of  the  members  and  take  care  that 
each  obtained  a  fair  share  of  the  products  of  their 
work,  that  they  had  regular  employment,  moderate 
hours  and  healthy  conditions  of  labour,  that  they 
were  adequately  supported  when  accidents  or  ill- 
health  befell  them,  and  that,  when  they  were  no 
longer  able  to  work,  they  obtained  a  moderate  pro- 
vision for  their  declining  years.  The  more  general 
wants  of  the  members,  and  especially  those  of  an 
educational  and  social  nature,  should  also  receive 
attention,  so  that  their  lives  might  be  rendered  more 
complete  and  happy,  and  their  efficiency  alike  as 
workers  and  as  citizens  promoted.  Moreover,  while 
protecting  the  interests  of   those  immediately  con- 


230  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

nected  with  them,  these  organisations  would  also 
keep  in  view  the  interests  of  the  public  generally. 
This  they  would  be  able  to  do  by  a  system  of  fed- 
erated agencies  which  would  keep  the  members  well 
informed  regarding  social  and  economic  conditions, 
and  thus  enable  them  to  solve  many  of  the  problems 
which  are  now  confronting  us.  Especially  would  the 
great  fluctuations  which  are  the  main  causes  of  the 
dislocations  of  industry  be  much  reduced  in  extent, 
for  improved  statistics  and  increased  facilities  for 
locomotion  would  do  much  to  equalise  supply  and 
demand  both  of  products  and  workers. 

Steady  wages  and  constant  work  should  be  aimed 
at  rather  than  high  wages  and  irregular  employment, 
which  have  a  most  demoralising  effect  on  all  con- 
cerned. Agreements  should  be  come  to  between 
the  employers  and  the  workers  which  would  fix 
wages  over  a  considerable  period,  at  least  when  these 
did  not  depend  directly  on  the  prices  of  the  goods 
produced,  and  when  they  did,  they  should  be  regu- 
lated automatically  by  means  of  a  sliding  scale, 
suitably  graduated  and  with  a  minimum  point  which 
allowed  sufficient  for  healthy  existence.  It  should 
be  possible  for  both  employers  and  operatives  to 
store  sufficient  wealth  in  busy  times  to  act  as  a  fly- 
wheel or  reservoir  when  there  was  a  tendency  for 
trade  to  be  slack.  Such  an  arrangement  would  also 
enable  the  employers  to  make  contracts  over  consid- 
erable periods  with  some  degree  of  certainty,  which 
would  increase  the  steadiness  of  trade.  When  a 
great  advance  of  wages  is  demanded  on  the  first 
appearance  of  a  slight  improvement  of  trade,  all 
chance  of  the  continuance  of  that  improvement  is 


MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS 


231 


effectually  stifled.  The  introduction  of  new  machin- 
ery is  a  not  infrequent  cause  of  the  dislocation  of 
industry,  and  such  an  agreement  as  I  have  indicated 
might  lead  to  the  formation  of  a  fund  which  would 
alleviate  the  hardships  caused  by  sudden  displace- 
ments of  labour. 

There  is  another  vexed  question  often  raised  by 
trade  unions  which  would  receive  the  careful  atten- 
tion of  the  guilds,  that  is  the  proportion  of  apprentices 
to  journeymen  employed  in  the  different  trades.  This 
is  eminently  a  question  affecting  the  relations  of  dif- 
ferent trades  to  each  other  and  to  the  whole  com- 
munity. If  children  are  brought  into  the  world,  work 
must  be  found  for  them  somewhere,  and  this  brings 
up  the  everlasting  population  question.  To  me  it 
seems  that  the  principal  value  of  the  discussion  of 
the  apprentice  question,  is  the  necessary  study  which 
it  involves  of  the  growth  of  population  on  future  social 
and  economic  conditions,  and  that  it  will  impress  on 
men  and  women  before  marriage,  their  responsibilities 
and  duties  in  the  state  which  they  propose  to  enter. 

Our  space  will  not  allow  us  to  consider  all  the 
details  of  the  arrangements  connected  with  the  modern 
industrial  guilds,  as  they  practically  include  all  that 
is  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  their  members.  So- 
ciety can  exist  in  a  high  state  of  efficiency  when  only 
there  is  direct  responsibility  brought  home,  not  only 
to  individuals,  but  also  to  groups  of  individuals  having 
the  same  interests  and  living  under  the  same  condi- 
tions. Even  when  conditions  become  more  equalised 
than  they  are  at  present,  such  industrial  and  social 
connections  would  greatly  help  to  keep  society  to- 
gether.    At  the  same  time  care  must  be  taken  that 


232  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

they  do  not  degenerate  into  narrow  castes,  which  not 
only  sacrifice  the  individuality  and  variety  of  their 
members,  but  also  laminate  society  into  disunited 
strata.  They  should  rather  do  all  in  their  power  to 
cultivate  originality  and  individuality  among  the  indi- 
viduals and  solidarity  in  their  corporate  capacity  and 
as  citizens,  for  these  qualities  are  essential  elements 
in  human  progress.  No  matter  how  much  some  of 
the  functions  which  have  been  described  may  be 
socialised  or  taken  over  by  the  State  or  the  com- 
munity, there  will  always  be  ample  room  for  the 
exercise  of  the  brotherly  attentions  of  the  members 
of  the  guilds  to  each  other. 

It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  the  guilds  would  take 
over  some  of  the  functions  at  present  undertaken  by 
the  State  or  the  community.  They  would,  for  in- 
stance, evidently  render  unnecessary  a  great  deal  of 
the  Factory  Legislation  and  the  machinery  connected 
with  it  which,  as  I  have  pointed  out,  should  only  be 
looked  upon  as  a  transitional  provision  for  helping 
those  who  at  the  time  were  unable  to  help  themselves. 
The  functions  (or  at  least  the  greater  part  of  them) 
which  have  hitherto  been  connected  with  it,  could  be 
much  more  efficiently  undertaken  by  the  great  asso- 
ciations of  employers  and  employed,  or  of  representa- 
tives selected  from  them,  combined  with  active  public 
opinion  and  an  ever  vigilant  Press.  This  indeed 
should  be  the  aim  in  every  department  of  life,  so  that 
an  improved  condition  of  individual  and  collective 
morality  might  render  the  greater  part  of  restrictive 
legislation  unnecessary. 

No  doubt,  when  these  industrial  guilds  were  fully 
developed  they  would  contain  within  themselves  all 


xi  MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS  233 

that  was  needed  for  the  settlement  of  disputes  or  the 
smoothing  over  of  difficulties,  but  for  a  considerable 
time  it  will  be  necessary  to  have  interme-  ^     , 

J  Develop- 

diate  bodies  between  the  employers  and  the  mem  of 

1  t  1  ,'    ,,    .._  Boards  of 

workers  to  discuss  and  settle  all  differences  Conciiia- 

1  •    ,  ■,  .  .    ,  tion  and 

which  arose  about  economic  or  social  con-  Arbitra- 
ditions.     As    I    have   already   pointed   out,  tl0n' 
these  bodies  are  beginning  to  take  shape  in  the  Boards 
of  Conciliation  and  Arbitration  which  are  now  being 
formed  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 

The  great  majority  of  disputes  arise  from  misun- 
derstandings which  would  generally  be  prevented  by 
intelligent  discussion,  and  no  doubt  the  local  Boards 
would  be  able  to  settle  most  of  them  in  a  satisfactory 
manner,  but  if  they  failed  to  do  so,  the  cases  ought  to 
be  referred  to  a  permanent  Board  of  Commissioners, 
elected  partly  by  employers  and  partly  by  the  trade 
organisations,  and  under  Government  supervision. 
The  decisions  of  such  a  Board  would  not  fail  to  com- 
mand, in  the  majority  of  cases,  the  confidence  and 
obedience  both  of  workers  and  employers,  for  neither 
party  would  dare  to  go  against  public  opinion. 

Arnold  Toynbee  had  great  faith  in  the  development 
of  these  Boards.  He  said  :  "  If  I  might  trust  myself 
on  the  unwise  ground  of  prediction  I  would  point  out 
that  Boards  of  Conciliation  may  grow  into  permanent 
councils  of  employers  and  workmen,  which  —  thrust- 
ing into  the  background,  but  not  superseding  Trades 
Unions  and  Masters'  Associations — for  these  must 
long  remain  as  weapons  in  case  of  last  appeal  to  force, 
—  should,  in  the  light  of  the  principles  of  social  and 
industrial  science,  deal  with  those  great  problems  of 
the  fluctuations  of  wages,  of  over-production  and  the 


234  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

regulation  of  trade,  which  workmen  and  employers 
together  alone  can  settle.  However  remote  such  a 
consummation  may  appear,  and  to  many  it  must  seem 
remote  indeed,  —  of  this  I  am  convinced,  that  it  is  no 
dream,  but  a  reasonable  hope,  born  of  patient  histori- 
cal survey  and  sober  faith  in  man's  higher  nature. 
And  it  is  reasonable,  above  all  in  England,  where 
owing  to  continuous,  unbroken  history,  some  senti- 
ment of  mutual  obligation  between  classes  survives 
the  dissolution  of  the  ancient  social  system."  * 

Industrial  disputes  or  differences  seldom  take  place 
when  both  sides  —  employers  and  employed — are  well 
organised,  and  when  they  arise  they  are  quickly  set- 
tled. Disputes  are  lengthened  and  struggles  pro- 
longed much  more  by  one  section  of  the  workers,  and 
occasionally  of  the  masters,  competing  with  another, 
than  by  differences  between  employers  and  employed. 
It  seems  therefore  reasonable  that  industrial  differ- 
ences should  be  settled,  not  by  the  individuals  con- 
cerned (except  of  course  in  matters  of  detail),  but  by 
the  corporate  bodies  to  which  they  belong. 

Representatives  of  these  bodies,  with  in  some  cases 
the  addition  to  both  sides  of  one  or  two  specialists, 
should  be  formed  in  each  district  into  Boards  of  Con- 
ciliation and  Arbitration  for  all  the  main  groups  of 
trades,  which  would  be  able  to  settle  the  majority  of 
the  disputes  that  arose  without  having  recourse  to 
the  cruel  methods  of  strikes  and  lockouts.  They 
would  also  in  many  cases  be  able  to  advise  concern- 
ing the  arrangements  which  are  necessary  to  prevent 
difficulties.     For  national  interests  there  should  be 

1  The  Industrial  Revolution,  p.  201.      " 


MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS 


235 


central  Boards  which  would  also  serve  as  Courts  of 
Appeal  from  the  local  Boards.  With  an  organised 
system  of  employers  and  trades  unions  there  would 
be  sufficient  influence  behind  the  Boards  to  cause 
their  decisions  to  be  respected  without  any  further 
compulsory  powers.  In  such  matters  it  is  better  to 
depend  on  the  force  of  public  opinion  than  on  legal 
measures,  as  has  sometimes  been  suggested,  for  no 
party  could  hold  out  long  which  was  not  supported 
by  this  opinion. 

With  organised  trade  unions  on  the  one  side,  and 
organised  employers  on  the  other,  we  have  simply 
two  immense  armies  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  and  a 
contest  results  in  immense  loss  and  suffering.  But 
with  a  Board  of  Conciliation  and  Arbitration  between 
them,  representative  of  all  that  is  best  on  both  sides, 
and  with  a  growing  feeling  among  both  parties  that 
wrongs  are  not  to  be  righted  by  brute  force,  but  by 
reason,  and  that  even  personal  welfare  and  happiness 
are  found,  not  in  the  pursuit  of  selfish  ends,  but  in 
the  individual  forgetting  himself  and  making  the 
community  his  other  self,  it  would  be  possible  not 
only  to  settle  such  difficulties  as  arose,  but  also  to 
cause  circumstances  to  evolve  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
prevent  all  difficulties  in  the  future. 

The  present  Trades  Union  Congress  might  be  de- 
veloped into  real  Labour  Chambers,  in  which  both 
employers  and  workers  would  be  represented,  and 
they  would  exercise  much  more  influence  on  Parlia- 
ment than  they  do  at  present  with  their  too  rapid 
methods  of  dispatching  business.  If  measures  affect- 
ing industry  were  discussed  by  such  an  assembly, 
from  all  points  of  view,  and  the  decisions  embodied 


236  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

in  resolutions  or  draft  Bills  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  they  would  soon  be  passed  through  Parliament, 
and  the  interests  of -labour  would  thus  be  adequately 
attended  to.  Moreover,  if  they  were  co-ordinated 
with  the  Chambers  of  Commerce,  Shipping  and  Agri- 
culture they  would  gradually  bring  the  whole  industry 
of  the  nation  into  line,  and  thus  cause  a  more  equable 
distribution  of  wealth.  They  would  collect  and  dis- 
tribute information  on  all  points  affecting  the  pros- 
perity of  the  trades  as  a  whole,  and  of  course  they 
would  always  keep  in  view  the  condition  that  such 
prosperity  must  not  be  bought  at  the  expense  of  the 
rest  of  the  community  or  of  the  nation. 

As  the  economic  conditions  of  the  workers  affect 
all  their  other  conditions  the  most  important  prob- 
lems to  be  decided  by  the  Industrial  Guilds, 
theawork-  or  should  they  be  unable  to  arrive  at  a 
Problems*16  settlement  satisfactory  to  all  parties,  by  the 
connected     Conciliation  and  Arbitration  Boards,  will  be 

with  them. 

the  arrangement  of  the  rates  of  wages  and 
the  hours  of  work  for  the  different  departments  of 
industry.  These  subjects  open  up  many  economic 
problems,  and  all  we  can  do  at  present  is  to  note  a 
few  of  their  most  important  aspects. 

A  fair  day's  wage  must  of  course  be  secured  by  a 
fair  day's  work.  The  first  must  be  subject  to  the 
physical  and  biological  conditions  which  are  necessary 
for  a  healthy  human  existence,  and  the  second  must 
in  some  manner  be  the  economic  equivalent  of  the 
first.  These  conditions,  however,  are  very  indeter- 
minate and  consequently  there  is  a  wide  variation 
with  regard  to  the  possible  arrangements.  The 
assumptions  hitherto  made  and  the  postulates   laid 


MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS 


237 


down  by  economists  require  to  be  very  considerably 
modified. 

The  assumption,  for  instance,  that  labour  is  perfectly 
mobile,  is  one  that  cannot  be  justified  by  an  appeal 
to  actual  physical  conditions,  to  history  or  to  ethics. 
Physically  it  is  not  mobile ;  historically  it  has  never 
been  mobile  ;  and  ethically  it  should  not  be  mobile. 
Even  the  postulate  that  wages  are  determined  by 
competition  and  the  state  of  the  market,  is  beginning 
to  be  looked  upon  as  not  altogether  unchangeable, 
and  the  feeling  is  arising  that  the  wages  which  are 
paid  to  labour  should  always  be  settled  by  looking  at 
the  ethical  aspects  of  the  subjects.  Unfortunately, 
in  a  competitive  system  of  industry  little  attention  is 
given  to  such  considerations,  nor  indeed  is  it  possible 
for  individual  employers  to  accord  it.  Nevertheless 
what  is  impossible  for  individuals  may  be  possible  for 
combinations  of  individuals  and  for  comm  unities,  if  they 
are  prepared  to  face  the  resulting  economic  conditions. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  this  book  we  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  human  nature  and  science  alike  de- 
manded different  rates  of  remuneration  for  different 
grades  of  skill  and  efficiency.  The  opinion  of  the 
Bishop  of  Durham,  which  was  quoted,  namely,  that 
wages  should  be  regulated  by  the  actual  value  of  the 
work  done  as  contributing  to  the  wealth  of  the  com 
munity,  maybe  taken  as  representing  that  of  thought- 
ful and  reasonable  Socialists.  This  would  agree  with 
what  the  Austrian  school  of  economists  call  the 
"  natural  value  "  of  labour  and  would  be  that  which 
would  be  recognised  by  a  completely  organic  and 
highly  rational  community.  That,  however,  takes  us 
into  the  region  of  the  ideal  and,  if  applied  to  present 


238  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

conditions,  would  involve  an  exceedingly  complicated 
and  practically  impossible  calculation.  Its  considera- 
tion, however,  will  be  useful,  as  well  for  those  who 
wish  to  understand  the  economy  of  the  present,  as 
for  those  who  wish  to  evolve  a  new  one.1 

The  "  produce  of  labour "  in  every  department  of 
life,  from  that  involving  the  highest  knowledge  and 
skill  to  the  most  common  manual  toil,  is  not  by  any 
means  a  simple  term,  and  is  certainly  not  identical 
with  the  apparent  products.  The  organic  nature  of 
society  makes  many  other  conditions  and  antecedents 
necessary,  and  very  often  a  fair  wage  to  the  worker 
is  by  no  means  the  most  important  element.  While 
the  hard  physical  toil  of  the  manual  worker  is  obvious 
and  should  be  adequately  remunerated,  the  skill  of 
the  artificer  or  craftsman,  the  mental  work  of  the 
manager  or  the  employer,  the  enterprise  and  foresight 
of  the  capitalist,  and,  probably  most  important  of  all, 
the  general  economic  conditions  of  the  undertaking  are 
not  so  obvious,  although  they  may  affect  the  efficiency 
and  ultimate  production  to  a  much  greater  extent. 

It  is  therefore  difficult  to  determine  by  any  logical 
or  consistent  principle  what  constitutes  a  fair  wage, 
but  the  exercise  of  a  little  common  sense  will  go  a 
long  way  towards  settling  the  matter.  Its  actual 
amount  will  be  determined  partly  by  the  custom  of 
the  profession  or  trade,  the  skill,  difficulty  or  danger 
of  the  works  and  by  the  number  of  those  who  are 
attracted  to  it.  "  Every  kind  and  quality  of  labour 
shows  a  different  result  according  to  the  available 
supply,  the  demand,  the  support  received  from  com- 

1  Cf.  Professor  Von  Wieser,  Natural  Value.  Translation  by  Dr. 
W.  Smart.     Macmillan  and  Co. 


MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS 


239 


plementary  goods,  and  the  technical  possibilities. 
At  the  top  of  the  tree  stand  the  'monopoly'  services, 
when  the  general  economic  conditions  of  the  time  aid 
them  with  technical  support  and  general  demand ;  at 
the  bottom  stand  the  over-congested  branches  of 
labour,  particularly  unskilled  manual  labour.  Wher- 
ever labour  power  is  available  in  great  quantity  it  is 
valued  as  a  ■  cost-good,'  and  suffers  from  all  the  disad- 
vantages of  this  valuation.  The  marginal  employ- 
ment is  always  the  decisive  one  —  that  employment 
of  the  labour  in  question  which  brings  the  smallest 
result  economically  permissible."1 

Professional  regulations  and  etiquette  are  generally 
sufficient  to  maintain  the  fees  of  those  engaged  in 
the  learned  professions,  and  if  they  fail  to  obtain  an 
adequate  income,  it  is  because  they  are  unable  to  find 
work  and  not  because  the  fees  are  reduced  to  the 
vanishing  point,  and  this  is  the  result  which  must  be 
met  in  any  attempt  to  fix  wages.  For  the  skilled 
and  unskilled  manual  workers,  the  trade  unions  and 
employers'  combinations,  or  combinations  of  them 
acting  through  such  guilds  as  we  have  described, 
perform  what  is  called  the  "  higgling  of  the  market," 
and  decide  the  question  from  considerations  of  ex- 
pediency. Among  the  members  of  the  trade  unions, 
at  any  rate,  the  belief  in  the  Iron  Law  of  Wages 
has  disappeared,  certainly  among  those  who  are  fully 
awake  to  the  advantages  their  position  affords,  and 
they  are  prepared  to  claim  them  to  the  uttermost. 
"They  have  converted  the  question  of  wages  from 
the  question,   How  little  the  labourer  can  afford  to 

1  Cf.  Professor  Von  Wieser,  Natural  Value,  p.  161. 


240  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

take,  into  the  question,  How  much  the  employer  can 
afford  to  give.  They  have  been  able,  in  trades  not 
subject  to  foreign  competition,  to  effect  a  permanent 
rise  in  wages  at  the  expense  of  prices,  and  they  can 
probably,  in  all  trades,  succeed  in  keeping  the  rate 
of  wages  well  up  to  its  superior  limit,  viz.  to  the 
point  at  which,  while  the  skilful  employers  might 
still  afford  to  give  more,  the  unskilful  could  not  do 
so  without  ceasing  to  conduct  a  profitable  business, 
and  being  driven  out  of  the  field  altogether."  J 

Some  of  the  trade  unions  even  try  to  insist  that 
prices  should  follow  wages,  and  that  the  other  condi- 
tions should  adjust  themselves  to  this  requirement. 
Whether  this  is  either  possible  or  expedient  will 
depend  on  the  circumstances  of  the  industries  con- 
cerned. Evidently,  it  cannot  become  universal,  for  a 
general  rise  in  wages  would  cause  a  general  rise  in 
the  prices  of  commodities  which  would  in  many  cases 
nullify  the  rise  in  wages  and  in  others  make  the 
economic  conditions  of  the  workers  worse  than  be- 
fore. This  should  be  remembered,  not  only  by  trade 
unionists,  but  also  by  legislators  when  passing  meas- 
ures for  the  protection  of  the  workers. 

Even  economists  are  now  admitting  that  "  Labour 
is  neither  limited  for  its  reward  to  a  wage-fund,  nor  is 
it  entitled  only  to  the  residuum  of  a  varying  product 
of  industry,"  but  on  the  contrary  that  "wages  (like 
rent,  interest  and  entrepreneur  s  profits)  are  a  vary- 
ing proportion  of  a  varying  product  of  industry."2 
Ricardo  is  generally  considered  an  economist  of  the 
narrow  and  strictly  orthodox  type,  but  he  "was  not 

1  Rae,  Contemporary  Socialism,  2nd  ed.,  p.  311. 

2  H.  M.  Thomson,  The  Theory  of  Wages,  Macmillan  and  Co.,  p.  81. 


XI  MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS 


241 


only  aware  that  the  necessary  or  natural  limit  of 
wages  was  fixed  by  no  iron  law,  but  is  determined 
by  the  local  conditions  and  habits  of  each  place  and 
time ;  he  was  further  keenly  sensitive  to  the  im- 
portance  of  a  higher  'standard  of  living,'  and  called 
on  the  friends  of  humanity  to  exert  themselves  to 
encourage  the  growth  of  a  resolve  among  the  working 
classes  not  to  allow  their  wages  to  fall  anywhere  near 
the  bare  necessaries  of  life."1  Professor  Walker, 
however,  has  pointed  out  that  "  in  getting  rid  of  the 
wage-fund,  we  have  not  reached  the  result  that  wages 
can  be  increased  at  any  time  or  to  any  amount  what- 
ever. We  have  merely  cast  aside  a  false  measure  of 
wages.  Wages  still  have  their  measure  and  their 
limits,  and  no  increase  can  take  place  without  a 
strictly  economical  cause.  Wages  cannot  be  larger 
than  the  product  except  by  force  of  pre-existing 
contract.  Wages  must,  in  the  long  run,  be  less 
than  the  product  by  enough  to  give  the  capitalist  his 
due  returns,  and  the  employer  his  living  profits."2 

With  the  present  organisation  of  industry  and  with 
the  opposing  theories  of  the  socialist  and  the  individ- 
ualist schools,  it  is  impossible  to  lay  down  a  hard  and 
fast  line  of  action  for  all  circumstances,  arranged  ac- 
cording to  a  formula  drawn  out  from  any  theory  as 
to  the  distribution  of  profits.3  It  must  always  be 
remembered  that  we  are  in  a  transition  stage  and 
that,  for  a  considerable  time,  compromise  must  be  the 
rule  in  all  such    matters.     The  object  should  be  to 

1  Marshall,  The  Principles  of  Economics,  p.  552. 

2  The  Wages  Question,  p.  410. 

8  For  a  survey  of  the  different  theories,  cf.  Marshall's  Principles  of 
Economics,  Book  vi.     Gide,  Principles  of  Political  Economy,  Book  iv. 


242  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

secure  that  the  general  tendency  is  always  in  the 
right  direction,  for  it  is  of  more  importance  to  be 
sure  of  the  direction  in  which  we  are  moving  than  to 
secure  that  our  steps  be  either  long  or  rapid. 

This  aspect  of  the  subject  has  been  treated  by  a 
thoughtful  collectivist  writer  from  whom  I  have  sev- 
eral times  quoted.  He  says  that  the  most  important 
elements  which  enter  into  the  consideration  of  actual 
wages  are  "  skill,  effort  and  unpleasantness  of  occu- 
pation. All  these  do  enter  into  the  rate  of  remuner- 
ation. How  far  should  they  do  so  ?  This  question 
is  bound  to  rise  into  importance  with  the  growth  of 
trade  unionism,  and  few  problems  are  more  difficult 
to  determine  by  any  theoretical  considerations.  Let 
us,  however,  bear  in  mind  that,  whatever  remuneration 
is  just,  is  so  because  it  is  for  the  common  good  that 
it  is  awarded.  From  this  point  of  view  it  is  clear  that 
remuneration  should  in  some  degree  depend  on  effort. 
I  do  not  mean  that  competition  should  be  re-introduced 
in  the  form  of  piecework,  or  that  any  encouragement 
whatever  should  be  given  to  over-exertion  ;  but  that 
a  certain  standard  of  assiduity  and  of  length  of  work 
should  be  exacted  as  is  done  at  present  by  the  over- 
seers of  every  branch  of  production,  with  this  differ- 
ence only  that  the  Trade  Union  of  the  producers 
affected  should  have  a  voice  in  the  fixing  of  the  stand- 
ard. By  this  means  society  can  call  forth  the  requi- 
site effort  on  its  behalf  without  mischief  to  the  most 
important  part  of  its  wealth,  the  health  of  its  workers. 
Similar  considerations  determine  the  treatment  of 
specially  unpleasant  or  unhealthy  occupations.  In 
these,  due  regard  for  the  common  good  as  bound  up 
with  the  good  of  the  employed,  would  lead  to  such 


XI  MODERN   INDUSTRIAL   GUILDS  243 

a  reduction  of  hours  as  would  leave  plenty  of  time  to 
recuperate."  1  He  arrives  at  the  conclusion  "  that  a 
fair  reward  of  labour  should  not  be  directly  propor- 
tioned to  skill,  nor  even  to  effort ;  that  the  best  social 
arrangements  would  fix  a  minimum  to  be  paid  even 
to  those  unable  to  fully  earn  it ;  and  that  while  an 
increase  of  remuneration  for  pure  skill  is  necessary, 
and  within  limits  desirable,  this  is,  on  the  rule  of  jus- 
tice as  laid  down  by  social  utility,  a  secondary  consid- 
eration as  compared  with  the  necessity  of  providing 
sufficiency  for  all,  to  be  attended  to  when  this  greater 
need  is  satisfied.  The  primary  economic  need  in  the 
matter  of  distribution  is  the  fixing  of  a  sufficient 
minimum  remuneration  and  a  reasonable  maximum 
of  hours  for  all  workers  in  company  with  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  rule  that  all  who  can  work  must  work." 
That  is  to  say,  he  believes  that  the  claims  of  the 
individual  must  be  balanced  by  those  of  the  commu- 
nity which  require,  in  the  first  place,  that  none  of  its 
members  shall  be  awanting  in  those  things  which  are 
necessary  to  enable  them  to  lead  a  civilised  existence. 
On  the  other  hand,  as  we  have  seen,  the  principles  of 
physics  show  that  workers  should  be  rewarded  in 
proportion  to  the  economic  utility  of  their  work,  those 
of  biology  that  parasites  and  loafers  of  all  kinds  are 
enemies  of  society  and  of  themselves,  while  ethical 
considerations  lead  the  members  of  a  community  not 
to  confine  themselves  to  egoistic  efforts  but  to  take 
part  in  what  has  been  called  the  struggle  for  the  life 
of  others.  This  aspect  of  the  subject,  however,  and 
the  claim  of   a  right  to  labour   at  current  rates   of 

1  Hobhouse,  The  Labour  Movement,  p.  n. 


244  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

wages,  or  of  subsistence  at  more  than  is  necessary  to 
support  life,  opens  up  many  questions  of  an  economic' 
and  social  nature  which  will  require  very  careful  con- 
sideration. In  my  opinion  such  a  claim  is  not  to  be 
met  by  any  opportunist  arrangements,  but  by  such  an 
organisation  of  industry  as  will  be  indicated  in  the 
next  chapter.  The  problem  of  wages  is  therefore 
ultimately  one  of  social  ethics  and  politics  and,  as  I 
have  already  pointed  out,  the  lines  of  conduct  to  be 
followed  must  be  those  which  tend  most  to  the  ad- 
vancement and  ennoblement  of  society  and  to  the 
consequent  general  welfare  of  the  race ;  it  is  only 
when  the  counsel  given  by  economics  and  morals 
coincides  that  the  action  may  be  regarded  as  ratified 
and  its  grounds  verified.  All  this  may  seem  some- 
what indefinite,  but  this  arises  from  the  indefinite 
nature  of  the  problem.  Moreover,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  lay  down  any  set  of  hard  and  fast  rules  regarding 
wages,  for  the  problems  connected  with  them  will  be 
solved,  not  by  any  sudden  change,  but  by  a  gradual 
modification  of  the  present  methods  and  the  improved 
organisation  of  industry,  combined  with  a  development 
of  the  altruistic  spirit  which  would  cause  each  member 
of  the  community  to  look,  not  only  after  his  own  in- 
terests but  also  after  the  welfare  of  all.  Then  it  may 
be  possible  to  have  a  minimum  wage  for  all  classes  of 
workers,  for,  as  Ruskin  has  pointed  out,  "  that  wages 
are  determined  by  supply  and  demand,  is  no  proof 
that  under  any  circumstances  they  must  be,  —  still 
less  that  under  all  circumstances  they  ought  to  be." 

The  demand  for  a  minimum  wage  for  the  different 
classes  of  work  has  for  some  time  been  increasing 
in  intensity,  but  it  is  surrounded  with  many  difficul- 


xi  MODERN   INDUSTRIAL   GUILDS  245 

ties.  If  it  only  meant  what  was  necessary  to  enable 
a  single  individual  to  live  a  healthy  human  life,  the 
matter  could  be  easily  arranged,  but  the  circum- 
stances of  the  workers  vary  very  much  and  what 
would  be  sufficient  for  one  would  be  quite  inade- 
quate for  the  requirements  of  a  man  with  a  wife 
and  family.  The  only  way  of  arriving  at  an  under- 
standing on  the  question  is  of  course  to  find  an  aver- 
age, and  thus  ascertain  what  may  be  called  the  normal 
wage  in  the  different  trades.1  This  may  be  taken  as 
that  which  is  sufficient  to  enable  a  labourer,  who  has 
normal  regularity  of  employment,  to  support  himself 
and  a  family  of  normal  size  according  to  the  standard 
of  comfort  that  is  normal  in  the  grade  to  which  his 
trade  belongs.  It  is  not  dependent  on  demand  except 
to  this  extent,  that  if  there  were  no  demand  for  the 
labour  of  the  trade  at  that  wage,  the  trade  would 
cease  to  exist.  In  other  words,  the  normal  wage 
represents  the  expenses  of  production  of  the  labour 
according  to  the  ruling  standard  of  comfort,  and  is  a 
quantity  fixed  so  long  as  this  standard  is  fixed ;  the 
influence  of  demand  is  only  to  determine  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  are  brought  into  the  trade,  and  not 
their  rate  of  wages.  As  a  matter  of  fact  these  are 
the  conditions  which  the  trade  unions  try  to  enforce, 
and  indeed  are  those  which  are  met  in  many  cases. 

The  difficulties  connected  with  fixing  a  minimum 
wage  for  the  different  trades  and  occupations  will 
probably  be  more  easily  got  over  than  the  evils  at- 
tending the  present  unlimited  competition  and  uncer- 
tainty.    While   it   may  be   possible   to   fix   rates  of 

1  Cf.  Marshall,  The  Principles  of  Economics,  p.  558. 


246  THE   EVOLUTION  OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

wages  it  is  impossible  to  guarantee  employment  at 
those  rates,  still  a  minimum  wage  would  tend  to 
industrial  stability,  for  speculative  production  would 
be  checked  and  alternate  periods  of  depression  and 
great  activity  would  become  less  frequent  and  less 
intense.  This  in  itself  would  be  a  great  advantage. 
Those  in  employment  would  have  constant  work  and 
steady  pay,  a  state  of  affairs  which  would  produce  the 
best  moral  results,  because  the  standard  of  living  would 
be  maintained.  There  would  for  some  time  however 
probably  be  a  greater  number  of  unemployed,  but  it 
would  be  better  for  all  concerned  to  make  special 
arrangements  for  those  who  were  unable  to  obtain  em- 
ployment at  their  regular  work  rather  than  allow  them 
to  drag  down  the  general  conditions  of  all  the  work- 
ers. The  nature  of  these  arrangements  will  depend 
to  a  large  extent  on  the  circumstances  of  the  different 
cases,  and  they  will  always  require  most  careful  con- 
sideration in  order  that  they  may  not  increase  the 
difficulties  which  they  are  intended  to  remove.1 

The  unemployed  may  be  divided  into  three  classes. 
In  the  first  we  have  those  who  from  physical  or  men- 
tal reasons  are  unable  to  work.  These  must  be 
provided  for  either  in  private  homes  or  public  in- 
stitutions. In  the  second,  we  have  those  who  are 
able,  but  are  unwilling  to  work.  These  must  be 
placed  under  conditions  in  which  they  would  be  com- 
pelled to  produce  at  least  sufficient  for  their  own 
subsistence.  In  the  third  class  we  have  the  unem- 
ployed proper,  namely,  those  who  are  both  able  and 
willing  to  work,  but  who  are  unable  to  find  employ- 

1  Cf.  Parliamentary  Report  (C.  7182)  on  Agencies  and  Methods  for 
dealing  with  the  Unemployed,  1893. 


xi  MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS  247 

ment.  As  the  organisation  of  industry  proceeded 
these  would  be  gradually  absorbed  and  would  ulti- 
mately disappear,  but  for  a  considerable  time  to  come 
arrangements  must  be  made  to  help  them  to  obtain 
work.  The  trade  guilds  could  do  a  great  deal  for 
their  members,  by  having  labour  bureaus  in  each 
town  or  district  which  would  supply  all  information 
regarding  obtainable  employment.  These  should  be 
co-ordinated  with  each  other  and  brought  into  rela- 
tions with  the  national  Labour  Department,  to  which 
there  ought  to  be  attached  a  competent  staff  of 
experts  who  are  acquainted  with  the  state  of  the 
labour  market  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Special 
facilities  should  be  offered  for  the  transport  of  work- 
ers to  districts  wherever  they  were  required  in  the 
different  industries  or  in  the  special  works  under- 
taken by  the  State  or  municipalities,  some  of  which 
might  be  kept  as  reserves  for  times  of  depression. 

The  energy  of  the  workers  would  thus  be  fully  uti- 
lised, and  in  a  comparatively  short  time  there  would 
be  no  need  for  the  charity  which  is  now  frequently 
resorted  to,  and  which  not  only  has  a  demoralising 
effect  on  the  workers,  but  also  accomplishes  nothing 
in  the  way  of  assisting  towards  a  permanent  solution. 
The  unemployed  represent  a  labour  force  which  only 
requires  organisation  to  make  it  abundantly  self-sup- 
porting. But  care  will  always  require  to  be  taken 
that  they  do  not  enter  into  competition  on  unfair 
terms  with  the  ordinary  workers  and  thus  lower  their 
economic  conditions.  When  the  problem  of  the  un- 
employed has  been  solved,  the  workers  will  have  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  the  highest  wages  which  the 
economic  conditions  will  admit  of. 


248  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

There  are  a  great  many  questions  connected  with 
wages  into  which  we  cannot  at  present  enter.1  Expe- 
rience, however,  seems  to  show  that  the  length  of  the 
working  day  is  a  good  index  of  the  productive  ability 
of  a  nation,  and  that  this  must  be  determined  not 
only  from  economic  but  also  from  physiological  data. 
Improved  consumption  must  accompany  improved  pro- 
duction if  the  social  organism  is  to  remain  in  a  healthy 
condition.  There  is  little  difference  about  the  opinion 
that  the  best  fed  nations,  the  English  and  the  Ameri- 
can, are  the  largest  producers,  and  that  the  world's 
industrial  supremacy  is  certain  to  belong  to  those 
who  earn  the  most  and  live  the  best.  At  the  same 
time,  other  factors  must  be  taken  into  account  such 
as  the  amount  of  capital  expended  in  plant  by  the 
owners  of  the  manufactory,  the  design  of  that  plant, 
the  excellence  of  the  management,  the  proximity  of  a 
ready  and  wealthy  market  and  the  absence  of  com- 
petition. The  active  members  of  the  industrial  guilds 
must  be  earnest  students  of  economics  so  that  they 
may  be  able  to  take  into  account  all  the  factors  which 
affect  wages  and  thus  be  in  a  position  to  decide  fairly, 
not  only  as  regards  the  claims  of  the  employers  and 
the  workers,  but  also  of  the  community  generally. 
While  organisation  in  the  directions  indicated  is 
being  proceeded  with,  it  will  no  doubt  be  necessary 
to  carry  out  many  temporary  measures  such  as  labour 
colonies  or  farms,  but  care  must  be  taken  that  they 
are  not  made  ends  in  themselves  but  only  means  to 
an  end,  so  that  as  soon  as  possible  they  may  be  ren- 
dered  unnecessary   by   an  organisation   of   industry 

1  Cf.  Rae,  Eight  Hours  for  Work  (Macmillan  and  Co.).  Schoenhof, 
The  Economy  of  High  Wages  (Putnam). 


MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS 


249 


which  will  make  an  unemployed,  able-bodied  man  an 
impossibility. 

The  fixing  of  a  minimum  wage  would,  moreover, 
hasten  the  evolution  of  the  organisation  of  industry 
by  making  it  impossible  to  carry  on  struggling  indus- 
tries by  means  of  low  paid  labour.  "When  wages 
are  low  and  men's  time  may  be  had  for  the  asking,  it 
becomes  easier  to  work  a  business  of  a  certain  kind 
with  profit.  Men  of  moderate  or  inferior  abilities  are 
tempted  to  one  of  the  most  difficult  games, — the 
management  of  a  modern  business  concern  —  by  the 
ease  with  which  the  pawns  are  moved.  There  are 
hosts  of  businesses  struggling  on  with  no  profit  to 
worker,  manager  or  consumer,  and  which  are  much 
better  put  out  of  their  misery.  The  natural  refuge 
of  these  weak  business  concerns  is  the  weak  and 
underpaid  workman,  and  accordingly  competition  — 
though  continually  eliminating  them  —  does  not  even 
so  do  its  work  fast  enough.  The  fixing  of  a  mini- 
mum wage  destroys  employment  of  this  kind,  to  the 
great  ultimate  gain  of  all  classes."  '  When  an  indus- 
try cannot  be  maintained  without  permanently  de- 
grading a  section  of  the  community  we  need  have 
little  hesitation  in  saying  that  it  ought  not  to  be 
continued. 

The  Socialists  believe  that  if  industry  were  organ- 
ised, it  would  be  possible  for  each  member  of  the 
community  to  obtain  much  more  than  a  mere  living 
wage.  They  believe  that  "by  means  of  socialised 
production,  an  existence  not  only  fully  sufficient 
materially,  and  becoming  day  by  day  more  full,  but 

1  Hobhouse,  The  Labour  Movement,  p.  25. 


250  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

an  existence  guaranteeing  to  all  the  free  development 
and  exercise  of  their  physical  and  mental  faculties  — 
this  possibility  is  now  for  the  first  time  here,  but  it  is 
here." 1  This  contention  is  indeed  supported  to  a 
considerable  extent  by  the  calculations  of  the  econ- 
omists,2 which  show  that  if  the  wealth  at  present 
existing  were  equally  distributed,  there  would  be 
enough  for  all,  at  least  if  tastes  were  simple.  These 
two  assumptions,  however,  prove  how  far  we  are  from 
a  solution  of  the  problem.  Both  of  them  can  be 
brought  within  the  sphere  of  practical  politics  only 
by  the  slow  evolution  of  industry  and  the  improve- 
ment of  intellectual  and  moral  conditions.  The  cal- 
culations referred  to  show  that,  while  it  is  important 
to  improve  the  distribution  of  wealth,  we  cannot 
afford  to  neglect  any  means  of  maintaining  and  in- 
creasing the  efficiency  of  production,  by  improved 
education  and  industrial  organisation. 

When  adequate  arrangements  have  been  made  for 

securing  healthy  conditions  and  fair  rates  of  wages  to 

the  workers,  and  when  their  economic  posi- 

Workshop  .  x 

Recon-  tion  has  become  rainy  stable  by  an  improved 
organisation  of  industry,  then  it  will  be  possi- 
ble for  them  to  turn  their  attention  to  their  work  and 
endeavour  to  make  it  as  efficient  and  as  beautiful  as 
possible.  The  energy  which  is  at  present  exerted  in 
striking  against  low  wages  and  in  struggling  for  better 
general  conditions  will  be  employed  in  reconstructing 
the  ideals  of  the  factory  and  the  workshop.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  modern  industrial  guilds,  if  they  strike  at 

1  Engels,  Socialism,  Utopian  and  Scientific,  p.  81. 

2  Cf.  Dr.  William  Smart,  Proceedings,  Glasgow  Phil.  Soc,  November 
1893  and  November  1894. 


MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS 


251 


all,  will  do  so  as  a  protest  against  using  bad  materials 
and  doing  bad  work  or  against  any  arrangement  which 
would  not  be  to  the  interest  of  the  public. 

The  first  necessity,  however,  is  that  all  the  members 
of  workers'  associations  of  every  kind  should  have  a 
clear  idea  of  the  position  which  their  efforts  take  in 
the  evolution  of  a  better  form  of  industrial  organisa- 
tion and  should  keep  this  ideal  clearly  in  view.  The 
different  movements  are  not  ends  in  themselves,  but 
simply  means  to  an  end,  and  their  effective  compo- 
nents should  be  co-ordinated  the  one  to  the  other. 
This  part  of  the  subject  we  will  study  in  the  next 
chapter. 

At  the  same  time,  while  making  arrangements 
which  allow  the  free  development  of  individual  capac- 
ities, the  position  of  the  great  machine  industries 
must  be  distinctly  recognised,  their  productive  powers 
fully  utilised  and  their  inevitable  disadvantages  min- 
imised. Shorter  hours,  improved  appliances  for  ven- 
tilation and  sanitation  generally,  and  every  convenience 
for  the  welfare  of  the  workers  will  do  much  to  neutral- 
ise the  monotony  of  the  work.  A  greater  amount  of 
leisure  would  afford  opportunities  for  the  exercise  of 
their  minds  and  bodies  in  other  directions,  and  full 
advantage  would  be  taken  of  the  municipal  arrange- 
ments for  healthy  enjoyment  and  recreation. 

The  higher  evolution  of  the  factory  system  has 
indeed  already  begun,  and  both  in  this  country  and  in 
America  there  are  establishments  which  a  few  years 
ago  would  have  been  considered  Utopian  dreams.  In 
such  establishments  the  mere  making  of  money  is  not 
considered  the  chief  object,  and  a  large  proportion  of 
the  profits  is  devoted  to  improving  agencies.     As  an 


252  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

acute  observer  has  remarked,  the  "  money  mills  of  to- 
day might  be  'mills  of  God'  to-morrow,"  producing 
intelligence  and  morality,  with  the  least  possible  ex- 
penditure of  civilising  effort,  because  of  the  assist- 
ance that  association  lends,  whether  to  the  making 
of  morality  or  of  cotton  goods.  That  association  is 
likely  to  lead  to  the  highest  good  when  it  is  of  the 
co-operative  form  and  the  workers  through  their  rep- 
resentatives either  on  the  managing  committee  or  in 
the  municipal  or  county  council,  are  able  to  have  an 
effective  voice  in  the  general  arrangements.  Signs 
are  not  awanting  at  the  present  day  that  the  highest 
development  of  industrial  activity  combined  with 
architectural  beauty  and  favourable  conditions  for 
work,  will  be  found,  as  in  the  Middle  Ages,  in  co- 
operative, municipal  or  some  other  form  of  corporate 
centres.  There  also  will  be  found  the  true  industrial 
spirit.  The  Bishop  of  Durham,  to  whose  ideals  I 
have  so  often  referred,  has  said,  "  Manufactures,  com- 
merce, trade,  agriculture,  if  once  the  thought  of  per- 
sonal gain  is  subordinated  to  the  thought  of  public 
service,  offer  scope  for  the  most  chivalrous  and  enter- 
prising and  courageous.  It  can  only  be  through 
some  misapprehension  that  it  seems  nobler  to  lead  a 
regiment  to  the  battlefield  than  to  inspire  the  workers 
in  a  factory  with  the  enthusiasm  of  labour.  ...  In 
this  way,  step  by  step,  the  Great  Industry,  full  of 
dangers  as  it  seemed  to  be  at  first,  will  —  may  we 
dare  to  prophesy  ?  be  made  to  contribute  to  the  mate- 
rial and  moral  elevation  of  all  who  are  engaged  in  it, 
not  as  separate  or  conflicting  units,  but  as  parts  of 
the  social  organism."  1 

1  Economic  Review,  October  1894. 


MODERN   INDUSTRIAL  GUILDS 


253 


While  the  factory  must  be  regenerated  and  ideal- 
ised, the  industrial  art  workshops  must  also  be  recon- 
structed in  such  a  manner  as  to  allow  the  workers  to 
impress  their  individualities  upon  their  work  and  thus 
to  have  real  pleasure  in  it.  Machinery  must  be 
utilised  to  the  utmost  and  made  to  take  the  place  of 
the  Greek  slaves  who  rendered  the  art  of  Athens 
possible.  It  is  however  becoming  evident  that  in 
all  branches  of  work  into  which  the  element  of  high 
artistic  design  enters,  the  factory  system  is  an  im- 
possibility, and  that  its  place  must  be  taken  by  a 
federation  of  small  workshops  in  which  it  would  be 
possible  for  the  workman  and  the  artist  to  be  com- 
bined and  all  the  products  to  bear  the  impress  of 
the  workers,  and  give  proof  that  the  work  afforded 
them  pleasure  in  the  doing.  This  indeed  is  the  basis 
on  which  the  workshop  of  the  future  must  be  con- 
structed. 

Not  only  have  the  conditions  of  the  workshops 
great  influence  on  individual  and  therefore  on  national 
character,  but  they  also  affect  to  a  very  great  extent 
the  efficiency  of  the  work  done.  As  Ruskin  and 
Morris  have  always  earnestly  pointed  out,  the  excel- 
lence of  work  is,  ceteris  paribus,  in  proportion  to 
the  joy  of  the  workman,  and  therefore  from  a  purely 
economic  point  of  view,  it  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance that  the  conditions  of  the  workshops  should 
be  such  as  to  allow  the  full  play  of  all  the  physical, 
intellectual  and  moral  energies  of  the  workers.  The 
reconstruction  of  the  workshop  is  therefore  a  funda- 
mental social  problem,  and  it  can  only  be  solved  by 
making  the  conditions  of  work  and  of  the  workers, 
the  basis  for  all  our  proposals  and  actions. 


2  54  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap,  xi 

To  a  certain  extent  this  is  being  recognised  at  least 
in  art  industries.  A  suggestive  writer  on  this  subject 
has  said  :  "  I  believe  that  there  are  two  movements 
going  on  in  our  midst  which  are  tending  to  the  ex- 
pression of  the  new  citizenship,  and  these  are  the 
Reconstruction  of  the  Workshop  and  the  humanising 
of  the  Citizen.  I  would  ask  for  a  closer  study  of 
the  former  and  a  more  generous  encouragement  of 
the  latter.  In  the  former  we  have,  on  the  part  of  the 
workman,  the  producer,  an  unconscious  reversion  to 
the  mediaeval  state,  the  central  idea  of  which  was  the 
maintenance  of  a  moral  code  and  an  economic  stand- 
ard of  life  conformably  with  it.  In  the  latter,  we 
have  through  the  educationalist  and  the  citizen  him- 
self, a  readiness  to  enter  again  into  that  culture  as 
it  was  understood  by  the  great  thinkers,  poets  and 
painters  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  — 
we  have  potentially  the  spirit  of  the  Renaissance."1 
When  it  is  more  clearly  recognised  that  the  workshops 
are  the  chief  practical  schools  for  the  formation  of 
character,  then  we  shall  take  care  that  the  conditions 
are  worthy  of  the  issues  which  they  influence. 

1  C.  R.  Ashbee,  Workshop  Reconstruction  and  Citizenship,  p.  12. 


CHAPTER    XII 

INDUSTRIAL    INTEGRATION 

In  a  previous  chapter  we  briefly  considered  the 
general  physical  and  biological  conditions  of  devel- 
opment, and  compared  some  of  the  rela-  introduc- 
tions of  the  organisation  of  animals  with  tory- 
that  of  society,  and  we  saw  that  there  are  many 
points  of  likeness.  In  an  animal  body  we  have,  on 
the  one  hand,  the  differentiation  of  its  parts  or  mem- 
bers by  means  of  which  the  various  functions  are 
performed  and,  on  the  other,  the  integration  of  these 
by  means  of  vascular  and  nervous  bonds  into  one 
whole,  so  that  the  action  of  each  adapts  itself  to  that 
of  the  rest,  and  all  combine  in  a  common  function 
for  the  good  of  the  whole  body. 

As  I  indicated,  however,  the  analogy  between  bio- 
logical and  social  organisation  must  not  be  pushed  too 
far  as  there  are  certain  very  marked  differences.  In 
fact  all  analogies  are  somewhat  dangerous,  for  while 
they  may  connect  resemblances,  they  very  often  dis- 
guise or  cover  up  the  truth.  In  every  form  of  society, 
constitutions,  laws  or  manners  of  any  kind  are  in 
their  ultimate  analysis  simply  contracts,  written  or 
implied,  between  the  members  to  do  this  or  to  abstain 
from  that,  and  among  the  higher  biological  organisms, 
there  is  none  which  is  developed  by  the  conjunction 

255 


256  THE  EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

of  a  number  of  primitively  independent  existences 
into  a  complex  whole. 

Herbert  Spencer  in  his  writings  again  and  again  has 
told  us  that  society  is  an  organism,  but  yet  when  he 
comes  to  apply  his  reasoning  to  practical  politics  he 
is  strongly  individualistic.  The  inconsistency  between 
his  philosophy  and  his  politics  is  the  feature  in  his 
writings  which  is  very  apparent  to  students  of  soci- 
ology. We  cannot,  however,  enter  into  this  point  as 
it  would  lead  us  beyond  our  present  limits  and  we 
must  refer  to  other  works  for  its  discussion.1 

Although  no  exact  analogy  can  be  found,  an  ex- 
amination of  the  facts  and  tendencies  recorded  in  the 
preceding  chapters  shows  that  there  is  a  considerable 
element  of  truth  in  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  Pro- 
fessor Huxley,  namely,  that  "the  process  of  social 
organisation  appears  to  be  comparable,  not  so  much 
to  the  process  of  organic  development,  as  to  the  syn- 
thesis of  the  chemist,  by  which  independent  elements 
are  gradually  built  up  into  complex  aggregations,  in 
which  each  element  retains  an  independent  individu- 
ality, though  held  in  subordination  to  the  whole.  The 
atoms  of  carbon  and  hydrogen,  oxygen,  nitrogen, 
which  enter  into  a  complex  molecule,  do  not  lose  the 
powers  originally  inherent  in  them,  when  they  unite 
to  form  that  molecule,  the  properties  of  which  express 
those  forces  of  the  whole  aggregation  which  are  not 
neutralised  and  balanced  by  one  another.  Each  atom 
has  given  up  something,  in  order  that  the  atomic 
society  or  molecule  may  subsist.  And  as  soon  as 
any  one  or  more  of  the  atoms  thus  associated  resumes 

1  Cf.  Fouillee,  La  Science  Sociale  Contemporaine.  Ritchie,  The 
Principles  of  State  Interference. 


INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION 


257 


the  freedom  which  it  has  renounced,  and  follows  some 
external  attraction,  the  molecule  is  broken  up,  and  all 
the  peculiar  properties  which  depended  upon  its  con- 
stitution vanish."1 

We  will  consider  some  of  the  more  general  bearings 
of  this  analogy  on  society  further  on,  but  meantime, 
without  admitting  that  it  is  in  all  respects  complete, 
it  is  evident  that  the  evolution  of  industry  is  an  ex- 
ample of  a  process  very  similar  to  that  just  described. 
I  have  called  its  final  stages  integration  and,  although 
this  name  does  not  describe  it  exactly,  still  its  use 
will  be  found  convenient.  In  fact,  as  I  have  said,  no 
name  or  analogy  can  be  found  which  exactly  expresses 
the  conditions  of  the  case.  We  have  in  industry  a 
series  of  simultaneous  movements  all  with  components 
in  the  same  direction  and  each  controlling  the  other 
to  a  certain  extent,  and  the  problem  is  :  How  far  is  a 
complete  integration  possible  ? 

A  recent  capable  writer  on  the  subject  has  said: 
"  Let  us  suppose  the  principles  we  have  advocated  to 
be  recognised  and  carried  out  to  their  logical  conclu- 
sion, and  let  us  try  to  picture  the  resulting  state  of 
industry.  The  work  of  the  nation  would  then  be  car- 
ried on  under  the  direction  of  communities  of  con- 
sumers. There  would  be  the  great  national  works 
developed  from  those  which  exist  at  present.  There 
would  be  probably  a  still  greater  development  of 
municipal  works,  and  there  would  be,  supplementing 
these,  voluntarily  formed  co-operative  associations  on 
the  existing  model,  united  by  the  Federal  principle 
and    ultimately    co-extensive    with    the    community. 

1  Critiques  and  Addresses,  Administrative  Nihilism,  p.  20,  also 
Collected  Works. 


258  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

We  shall  advance  in  all  three  directions  with  varying 
rapidity,  but  steadily  and  simultaneously.  In  each 
case  suitable  remuneration  and  healthy  conditions  of 
work  will  be  ensured  for  all  classes  of  producers  by 
good  legislation,  backed  up  and  supplemented  by  strong 
Trade  Union  action.  The  surplus  product  when  this 
charge  is  met  will  be  in  the  hands  of  the  community 
for  common  purposes,  that  there  may  be  the  means 
of  life  for  the  infirm,  and  of  culture  and  enjoyment 
for  all,  and  the  ceaseless  wearying  roar  of  the  great 
engine  of  competition  would  be  still."1 

No  doubt  this  will  be  pronounced  an  ideal  which  is 
altogether  beyond  the  range  of  practical  politics,  and 
only  realisable  in  the  far  distant  millennium,  but,  as  I 
have  pointed  out,  in  every  department  of  life  ideals 
are  necessary  to  guide  us  in  the  successive  steps  we 
ought  to  take.  If  they  are  kept  constantly  in  view 
and  efforts  made  to  realise  them  the  tendencies  will 
always  be  in  the  right  direction,  for  it  is  of  much 
more  importance  to  be  sure  of  this,  than  to  be  con- 
tinually making  experiments  under  the  influence  of 
any  popular  movement  which  may  have  become  the 
fashion  of  the  hour.  Both  politicians  and  economists 
are  beginning  to  recognise,  although  in  a  somewhat 
vague  manner,  that  industrial  society  will  not  per- 
manently remain  without  a  systematic  organisation, 
and  further  that  the  mere  conflict  of  private  interests 
will  never  produce  a  well-ordered  commonwealth  of 
labour.  This  commonwealth  will  not  be  brought 
about  by  the  application  of  any  new  doctrine,  but  by 
recognising  that  all  the  apparently  conflicting  doc- 

1  Hobhouse,  The  Labour  Movement,  p.  80. 


INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION 


259 


trines  at  present  in  the  air  have  some  elements  of 
truth,  in  other  words,  that  all  the  movements  they 
represent  have  effective  components  in  the  direction 
of  progress.  The  main  question  to  be  considered 
therefore  is,  How  far  and  within  what  limits  are 
those  doctrines  true  ?  The  problem  before  us  is  to 
substitute  consciously  adapted  co-ordination  for  inter- 
necine competition,  if  the  organism  which  survives  is, 
not  only  to  be  the  fittest  for  struggle,  but  also  the 
best  both  for  individual  and  corporate  life. 

The  integrating  factor  in  the  industrial  problem  is 
evidently  a  complete  system  of  education  which  will 
not  merely  afford  the  necessary  intellectual  and  phys- 
ical training,  but  will  also  impart  high  ideals  of  life 
and  duty  to  all  the  rising  generation,  and  enable  them 
to  perform  alike  their  duties  to  themselves  and  to 
those  immediately  dependent  on  them,  and  also  those 
which  are  expected  of  them  as  citizens  who  clearly 
recognise  that  the  welfare  of  the  community  is  inti- 
mately bound  up  with  their  own,  and  is  in  fact  indis- 
pensable to  it.  Equality  of  opportunity  demands, 
however,  both  the  same  means  of  education  for  all, 
and  an  equally  good  start  in  life  to  every  young 
person,  a  demand  which  may  seem  to  many  to  involve 
changes  as  drastic  and  as  much  to  be  dreaded  as 
those  likely  to  be  brought  about  by  socialism  or  col- 
lectivism of  any  form. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  my  opinion,  the  chief 
mechanism  by  which  the  integration  will  be  per- 
formed will  be,  neither  the  multiplication  of  legis- 
lative enactments,  nor  the  storm  and  confusion  of  a 
revolution,  but  the  agencies  already  at  work,  namely 
trade  unions,  co-operation  in  its  various  forms,  volun- 


260  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

tary,  municipal  and  State,  and  above  all  a  socialised 
individualism  which  will  link  them  together  and  cause 
them  to  produce  the  highest  social  welfare.  A  com- 
plete solution  of  industrial  problems  requires  the 
co-ordination  of  the  whole  of  the  effective  compo- 
nents of  the  different  forces  at  work,  and  this  is  the 
process  we  must  now  briefly  consider. 

Trade  unionists  as  a  rule  are  intelligent  enough  to 

see  that  trade  unionism  by  itself  will  never  solve  the 

,    problems  of  labour.     It  has  hitherto   been 

Sphere  of      r 

Trade       chiefly  a  fighting  machine  for  maintaining 

Unions.  J  f      .    £         ,    ,  .  ,  ,  f 

the  economic  rights  of  the  workers,  although 
in  recent  years  its  scope  has  been  considerably  wid- 
ened, and,  as  I  have  indicated,  it  may  develop  into  an 
organisation  for  regulating  the  claims  of  the  differ- 
ent kinds  of  labour  and  generally  for  supervising  the 
interests  of  the  workers.  Even  in  an  organised  or 
co-operative  industrial  society  trade  unions  or  their 
equivalents  will  be  necessary  to  maintain  the  position 
of  the  different  classes  of  workers,  for  there  is  nothing 
in  the  nature  of  a  co-operative  society,  as  such,  to 
safeguard  the  interests  of  the  workers  as  a  body  or 
of  the  various  classes  of  workers.  The  ideal  which  is 
held  by  one  class  of  thinkers,  that  all  should  be  paid 
alike,  if  not  for  ever  impossible,  is  certainly  very  far 
distant. 

The  trade  unions  are,  in  fact,  the  natural  organs  for 
expressing  the  interests  of  the  different  sections  of 
the  working  community,  as  distinguished  from  those 
of  the  general  body  of  consumers,  and  they  are  needed 
to  complete  the  co-operative  organisation  of  industry 
whether  this  be  of  a  voluntary,  municipal  or  national 
form.     When  a  federation  of  Unions  has  been  fully 


xii  INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION  26 1 

organised,  the  basis  of  trade-union  action  will  be  en- 
larged, and  the  narrowness  which  at  present  marks 
many  of  their  actions  will  disappear,  and  the  true 
identity  of  interest  of  all  workers  will  be  recognised. 
If  the  organisation  of  industry  is  to  lead  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  welfare  of  the  nation,  it  must  be 
through  a  control  exercised  in  the  interests  of  the 
whole  nation. 

The  trade  unions  might  be  made  effective  instru- 
ments in  bringing  about  this  transformation  of  indus- 
try if  they  employed  part  of  their  funds  either  in 
starting  co-operative  workshops  or  in  obtaining  pos- 
session for  the  workers  of  establishments  already  in 
existence,  and  making  them  part  of  the  Federation 
of  Co-operative  Institutions,  for  without  this  they 
would  simply  tend  to  increase  the  existing  competi- 
tion. Co-operation  in  some  form  is  the  necessary 
supplement  to  trade  unionism,  for  it  co-ordinates  the 
various  parts  of  the  industrial  organism. 

In  the  industrial  organisation  of  the  future  it  is 
very   evident   that   it   will   be   neither   possible   nor 
desirable  to  place   all,  even   of   the   larger  The 
industries,   directly   under    Government   or  o?Co-op- 
municipal    management.      It   will   be   suffi-  eratlon- 
cient  if  some  of  the  present  arrangements  be  modi- 
fied to  suit  the  altered  conditions.     The  system  of 
co-operation  will  be  extended  and  made  to  include 
many  of  the  existing  joint-stock  companies,  and  these 
will  be  co-ordinated  with  each  other  so  that  the  best 
interests  of  the  community  and  the  welfare  of  the 
workers   may  be  constantly  kept  in  view,  for,  as  I 
have  already  pointed  out,  the  chief  functions  of  co- 
operation are  to  reduce  waste  in  administration  and 


262  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

production,  to  co-ordinate  supply  and  demand  and  to 
assist  in  the  more  equable  distribution  of  wealth. 

From  the  last  of  these  points  of  view  it  may  be 
objected  that  it  is  wrong  to  raise  up  a  body  of  small 
capitalists  whose  interests  are  opposed  to  those  of  the 
general  community,  and  therefore  that  all  schemes  of 
profit  sharing  whether  in  co-operative  or  capitalist 
production  should  be  discouraged.  But  as  I  have 
already  remarked,  in  this  as  in  all  other  movements 
the  ideal  is  not  to  be  reached  at  one  bound,  but  only 
by  slow  and  successive  steps,  and  profit  sharing,  at 
least  in  a  moderate  degree,  may  be  a  useful  step 
towards  its  attainment.  While  such  methods  may 
raise  what  seems  to  be  a  class  of  privileged  workers, 
it  is  only  as  a  step  towards  raising  all  the  workers  to 
that  class.  As  the  movement  extends,  profits  will 
lessen  and  will  ultimately  disappear  so  that  the  ques- 
tion which  is  now  somewhat  hotly  debated  will  solve 
itself. 

The  forms  which  co-operative  action  will  take  in 
the  future  will  vary  considerably,  but  the  principles 
involved  in  each  will  be  essentially  the  same.  Some 
co-operators  are  enthusiastic  enough  to  think  that 
the  movement  in  which  they  are  interested  is  in 
itself  and  by  its  present  methods  sufficient  to  be 
the  means  of  regenerating  industrial  society.  In 
certain  respects,  indeed,  they  are  more  liberal  in 
their  views  than  those  who  would  extend  munici- 
pal action  indefinitely,  for  their  organisation  is 
not  confined  to  municipalities  or  parishes,  but  may 
in  some  departments  be  spread  over  the  whole 
country. 

They,  however,  repudiate  State  or  municipal  inter- 


Xii  INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION  263 

ference,  and  hold  that  Co-operation  is  concerted 
action  based  on  consent,  whereas  municipal  or  State 
action  is  based  on  coercion.  It  is  evident  that  in 
many  cases,  as  social  conditions  improved,  the  divid- 
ing line  between  the  different  kinds  of  action  would 
disappear,  and  that  the  consent  of  the  community 
would  be  given  to  the  provision  of  the  necessaries 
of  life,  at  least,  by  the  combined  action  of  all  for 
the  benefit  of  all.  While  the  ordinary  methods  of 
co-operation  are  entirely  in  the  right  direction,  when 
its  principles  are  clearly  kept  in  view,  the  move- 
ment requires  to  be  quickened  by  other  agencies, 
and  chiefly  by  the  action  of  municipal  bodies,  which 
carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  whole  community  and 
serve  its  interests,  and  not  simply  those  of  one  or 
two  sections  of  it. 

In  democratic  government  as  in  co-operative  man- 
agement the  will  of  the  majority  always  governs,  and 
it  makes  little  difference  whether  the  executive  takes 
the  shape  of  a  Town  or  County  Council,  or  a  Depart- 
ment of  Government,  or  the  Committee  of  a  Whole- 
sale Co-operative  Society.  In  order  that  no  hardship 
may  be  done  to  any  section  of  the  community,  as  the 
result  of  collective  action  in  any  form,  the  people  must 
see  that  this  executive  is  made  truly  representative. 
This  indeed  constitutes  the  chief  difficulty  in  con- 
nection with  collectivism  of  any  kind,  and,  if  it  be 
unduly  pushed,  before  the  people  are  prepared  for  it, 
struggles  might  ensue  much  more  severe  than  any 
strikes  or  lock-outs  have  ever  been,  for  they  would 
probably  end  in  civil  war. 

The  extreme  collectivists  or  socialists  would  extend 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  to  every  sphere  of  action, 


264  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

and  leave  practically  no  liberty  to  the  individual, 
although  they  would  probably  hold  that  they  would 
Limits  and  onry  substitute  an  intelligent  management 
Coiiectiv-  f°r  a  cnaotic  competition.  They  point  out 
ism  and       that  it    is  practically  impossible  to  restore 

sphere  of  x  J  ■ 

Legisia-  to  the  people  as  individuals,  the  government 
of  their  economic  interests,  and  that  the 
only  alternative  to  an  irresponsible  plutocracy  is  col- 
lective control.  On  the  other  hand,  the  extreme 
individualists  or  the  absolute  anarchists  would  leave 
the  people  to  do  what  they  thought  proper  in  every 
relation  of  life.  We  may  rest  assured  that  rational 
men  and  women  would  tolerate  neither  the  one  system 
nor  the  other,  but  they  would  in  each  case  consider 
where  coHective  action  is  necessary  and  desirable  and 
where  it  is  impossible  and  dangerous.  A  thoughtful 
writer  on  this  subject  has  said:  "Put  the  municipality 
in  command  of  that  which  is  municipal  in  extent  and 
the  nation  in  control  of  that  which  is  national.  In 
this  way  the  principal  of  control  by  the  body  of  con- 
sumers proceeds  most  easily  and  speedily  by  several 
converging  roads.  And  on  each  method  the  effects 
are  the  same.  We  avoid  the  waste  and  friction  at 
present  involved  in  the  adjustment  of  demand  and 
supply ;  and  we  put  the  surplus  revenue  into  the 
pockets,  not  of  individuals,  but  of  the  community. 
Lastly,  we  introduce  a  new  spirit  and  a  new  principle 
into  industry."1  After  studying  the  different  move- 
ments going  on  at  present,  the  same  writer  has  said : 
"  Not  only  are  there  many  mansions  in  the  City  of 
God,  but   there  are  many  paths   that  lead  thereto, 

1  Hobhouse,  The  Labour  Movement,  p.  41. 


xii  INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION  265 

even  though  each  be  narrow.  And  so  there  are  many 
ways  to  social  welfare  —  the  noblest  goal  that  man 
can  set  before  him  —  but  all  trend  in  one  direction 
and  at  last  they  meet.  And  we  stand  now  at  the 
point  where  the  unity  of  principle  that  has  guided  us 
all  along  is  becoming  clear.  That  principle  is  simple. 
It  assumes  that  intelligence  is  better  than  blind  force, 
and  reaches  its  end  more  speedily  and  surely.  It 
holds  that  the  economic  well-being  of  society  is  the 
true  end  of  industry,  and  that  this  end  will  therefore 
be  reached  better  by  an  intelligent  organisation  of 
industry,  than  by  the  haphazard  interaction  of  unintel- 
ligent forces.  It  holds,  that  self-interest  acts  intelli- 
gently enough  for  self,  but  inasmuch  as  it  totally 
disregards  the  welfare  of  others,  it  is  to  be  regarded, 
relatively  to  that  welfare,  as  a  blind  and  often  destruc- 
tive force.  It  holds  that,  apart  from  the  control  of 
industry  by  the  community  for  its  own  ends,  there  is 
no  force  but  that  of  self-interest  to  impel  and  guide 
production,  and  that  therefore  the  withdrawal  of  col- 
lective control  leaves  industry  to  the  interaction  of 
blind  forces  producing  mixed  good  and  evil,  with  no 
necessary  tendency  to  progress,  no  pre-established 
'  economic  harmony '  between  self-interest  and  the 
common  weal.  Accordingly,  on  the  ground  that 
intelligence  is  more  effective  than  brute  matter,  and 
that  the  control  of  the  community  is  the  only  possi- 
ble intelligent  agency  which  can  direct  the  course  of 
economic  progress,  it  advocates  the  substitution  of 
such  control  for  the  present  chaos  of  the  economic 
world."  1 

1  Hobhouse,  The  Labour  Movement,  p.  53. 


266  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

At  the  present  time  it  is  quite  evident  that  a  grad- 
ual transformation  of  our  industrial  system  is  going 
on  and  that  it  will  continue  with  increasing  speed. 
Municipalities  are  extending  their  activities  in  the 
same  directions  as  those  in  which  for  some  time  they 
have  been  spreading,  and  the  supplies  of  water,  of  the 
means  of  lighting,  of  local  communication,  of  educa- 
tion and  recreation  are  all  being  obtained  from  public 
sources.  Probably  in  some  form  the  liquor  traffic,  and 
the  business  of  fire  and  life  insurance  will,  in  the  not 
very  distant  future,  be  brought  under  public  control, 
if  not  public  management.  Moreover,  all  these  de- 
partments will  have  the  majority  of  their  require- 
ments supplied  from  public  and  not  from  private 
undertakings,  an  arrangement  which  in  itself  will 
cause  a  great  extension  in  the  organisation  of  in- 
dustry. 

If  we  had  a  proper  system  of  land  laws  and  an 
adequate  system  of  instruction  in  agriculture,  much 
more  attention  would  be  paid  to  the  oldest  of  our  in- 
dustries, namely,  agriculture,  and  the  great  body  of 
the  people  would  thus  be  brought  into  closer  contact 
with  the  land.  This  is  indeed  one  of  the  most  press- 
ing wants  of  the  time,  and  if  more  attention  were  paid 
to  the  subject  in  our  schools  and  colleges  we  might 
soon  be  able  to  realise  the  ideal  of  More's  Utopia, 
when  agriculture  would  be  so  universally  understood 
among  the  people,  that  no  person,  either  man  or 
woman,  would  be  ignorant  of  it,  having  been  in- 
structed in  it  from  their  childhood,  partly  by  what 
they  learned  at  school  and  partly  by  practice  in  the 
fields  which  were  always  accessible  to  them.  Like 
the  Utopians,  however,  every  man  should  have  some 


xii  INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION  267 

other  trade  which  was  the  main  work  of  his  life  and 
in  which  he  should  aim  at  being  as  skilled  as  possible. 
If  we  ever  attain  anything  like  the  conditions  imagined 
by  More,  it  will  be  found  that  the  most  important 
part  of  our  educational  work  is  carried  on,  not  in  the 
schools  and  colleges,  but  in  the  workshops  and  fields, 
whether  these  be  under  the  control  of  municipali- 
ties, co-operative  societies  or  individuals.  Already  a 
beginning  has  been  made  in  co-operative  agriculture 
and  it  promises  large  developments.  Local  bodies 
are  gradually  obtaining  powers  to  hold  land  for 
any  purpose  which  may  be  to  the  advantage  of  the 
community,  while  facilities  for  providing  allotments 
to  workers  are  being  increased.  All  these  move- 
ments are  necessary  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
different  conditions  which  arise  in  an  organised  com- 
munity, and  their  relative  proportions  will  depend  on 
the  circumstances  of  the  various  localities. 

In  some  cases  it  may  be  difficult  to  distinguish 
between  the  work  which  should  be  undertaken  by  the 
State  and  the  Municipalities,  but  each  case  must  be 
decided  on  its  own  merits,  and  the  exercise  of  a  little 
common  sense  will  be  sufficient  to  show  which  method 
is  to  be  preferred.  Generally  speaking,  State  man- 
agement, that  is  to  say  the  direct  management  by  the 
Central  Government,  should  be  strictly  confined  to 
those  departments  which  are  of  national  importance, 
and  from  which  all  members  of  the  community  equally 
benefit,  or  which  are  necessary  for  the  national  de- 
fence. In  addition  to  those  departments  already  in 
the  hands  of  the  State  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
railways  and  the  mines  and  probably  the  shipping 
will  ultimately  come  under  State  management,  or  at 


268  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

least  under  a  greatly  extended  State  control.  ,  The 
rate  of  progress  of  the  evolution  will  just  be  as  fast, 
or  as  slow,  as  public  experience  may  justify  and  public 
opinion  demand.  Every  extension  of  State  or  muni- 
cipal enterprise  or  management  should  only  be  made 
after  full  consideration  of  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  and  after  sufficient  experience  has  been  obtained 
to  place  the  success  of  the  undertaking  practically 
beyond  doubt,  and  even  then  only  when  it  could 
be  better  done  than  by  private  parties.  Hence  the 
necessity  for  a  healthy  and  intelligent  civic  spirit 
which  would  subject  all  new  proposals  to  a  searching 
criticism,  and  insist  on  everything  which  was  under- 
taken being  carried  out  with  the  strictest  economy 
compatible  with  the  highest  efficiency. 

It  is  not  at  all  probable  that  the  methods  of  transi- 
tion or  the  ultimate  forms  of  the  organisation  of 
industry  will  all  be  of  the  same  nature.  Great  public 
movements,  such  as  industrial  evolution,  do  not  follow 
pre-arranged  plans,  but  carve  out  channels  for  them- 
selves, about  which  we  can  say  nothing  in  detail, 
although  we  may  predict  their  general  direction  and 
outcome.  The  forces  that  we  have  been  consider- 
ing, and  which  are  continually  in  action,  are  causing 
an  evolution  which  only  requires  intelligent  guidance 
in  order  that  it  may  bring  about  the  greatest  public 
good.  That  this  may  so  result  we  must  aim  at  a 
system  which  will  give  the  maximum  social  welfare 
and  individual  liberty,  for  no  good  can  be  expected 
from  any  organisation  which  compels  all  the  members 
of  the  community  to  perform  their  duties  like  pieces 
of  mechanism.  The  growth  of  an  improved  social 
spirit,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  action  of  the  factory 


xii  INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION  269 

inspector  or  the  trade  guild,  on  the  other,  would  be 
the  means  of  making  the  social  and  economic  results 
of  all  kinds  of  industrial  undertakings  of  essentially 
the  same  nature  and  of  converting  the  individual- 
istic into  the  co-operative  or  socialised  forms.  The 
process,  however,  would  be  hastened  by  the  develop- 
ment of  Boards  of  Conciliation  and  of  Industrial 
Guilds  and  Labour  Chambers  mentioned  in  the  last 
chapter. 

The  main  lines  of  the  evolution  are  being  very  dis- 
tinctly marked.  The  machine  and  its  productive 
power  are  gradually  being  organised  for  economical 
service  in  all  that  relates  to  the  necessaries  and  the 
common  conveniences  of  life.  Beyond  this,  however, 
there  is  a  growing  demand  for  free  scope  for  individ- 
ual development  and  the  exercise  of  individual  capaci- 
ties in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  real  pleasure  to  the 
workers  and  stamp  their  work  with  their  personal 
characteristics.  Indeed,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  to  the 
reorganised  workshop  that  we  must  look  for  the  most 
efficient  school  of  individual  and  national  character. 
The  organisation  of  industry  is,  therefore,  not  only 
economic  in  its  nature,  it  is  also  ethical. 

We  are  safe  in  assuming  that  irresponsible  capital- 
ists and  millionaires  will  disappear,  and  that  limited 
liability  companies,  rings  and  syndicates,  which  have 
become  monopolies,  will  be  utilised  in  the  public  in- 
terests. There  is  considerable  truth  in  the  socialist 
saying  that  "the  modern  captains  of  industry  are 
simply  running  the  machine  till  we  are  ready  for 
Socialism."  The  trusts  and  syndicates  of  America, 
which  have  been  noticed  in  a  previous  chapter,  and 
various  combinations  of  a  similar  kind  in  this  country 


270  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

are  all  steps  in  the  process  of  evolution  towards  so- 
cialisation in  some  form  or  another. 

No  great  change  from  what  at  present  exists  need 
take  place  in  the  general  arrangements  or  personnel 
of  the  public  concerns.  The  directing  and  working 
staff  would  simply  become  public  instead  of  private 
servants.  No  doubt,  there  would  be  a  gradual  concen- 
tration of  offices,  many  of  which  would  be  rendered  un- 
necessary if  the  separate  concerns  were  amalgamated. 
Economy  would  thus  be  promoted,  while  the  efficiency 
would  depend  largely  on  the  interest  the  public  took 
in  the  affairs  of  their  own  undertakings. 

The  extension  of  municipal  and  State  action  is,  as 
I  have  already  pointed  out,  the  logical  development 
of  voluntary  co-operation  in  its  various  forms,  in  which 
the  Town  and  County  Council  or  the  Government 
Department  takes  the  place  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Wholesale  Co-operative  Society,  and  all  lead  to  the 
co-ordination  of  service.  As  a  thoughtful  writer  on 
this  subject  has  remarked :  —  "  The  history  of  progress 
is  the  record  of  the  gradual  diminution  of  waste.  The 
lower  the  stage  the  greater  is  the  waste  in  the  attain- 
ment of  any  end.  In  the  lower  organisms  nature  is 
reckless  in  her  expenditure  of  life.  The  higher  ani- 
mals, more  able  to  defend  themselves,  have  the  few- 
est young.  When  we  come  to  human  beings  in  soci- 
ety the  State  is  the  chief  instrument  by  which  waste 
is  prevented.  The  mere  struggle  for  existence  be- 
tween individuals  means  waste  unchecked.  The  State, 
by  its  action,  can  in  many  cases  consciously  and  de- 
liberately diminish  this  fearful  loss  ;  in  many  cases 
by  freeing  the  individual  from  the  necessity  of  a  per- 
petual struggle  for  the  mere  conditions  of  life,  it  can 


INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION 


271 


set  free  individuality  and  so  make  culture  possible. 
An  ideal  State  would  be  one  in  which  there  was  no 
waste  at  all  of  the  lives,  and  intellects,  and  souls  of 
individual  men  and  women."  x  Another  able  writer 
has  remarked  that  "the  bugbear  of  'State  interfer- 
ence' (a  real  danger  under  so  many  circumstances) 
vanishes  when  a  community  approaches  the  point  at 
which  the  individual  himself  becomes  the  State.  It 
might  be  added  that  under  no  circumstances  could 
the  temper  of  the  English  people  tolerate  any  consid- 
erable amount  of  ■  State  interference.'  The  commu- 
nalisation  of  certain  social  functions  corresponds  — 
without  being  an  exact  analogy  —  to  the  process  by 
which  physiological  actions  become  automatic.  As 
it  becomes  a  State  function  commerce  will  cease  to 
absorb  the  best  energy  and  enterprise  of  the  world, 
and  will  become  merely  mechanical."  2 

The  socialisation  or  municipalisation  of  monopolies 
would  have  very  important  economic  results.  Not 
only  would  the  productive  forces  be  better  utilised, 
but  the  distribution  of  wealth  would  be  improved,  for 
what  at  present  goes  into  the  pockets  of  a  compara- 
tively small  number  of  shareholders  would  then  be 
distributed  over  the  whole  community  and  thus  bring 
about  a  general  elevation  of  social  and  economic  con- 
ditions. Moreover,  what  the  co-operative  society  does 
for  the  ordinary  articles  of  consumption  would  be 
done  on  a  larger  scale,  not  only  for  the  products  of 
the  larger  industries,  but  also  probably  for  the  more 
common  wants  of  every-day  life,  for  the  co-operative 
society  must  be  looked  upon  simply  as  a  step  to  a 

1  Ritchie,  The  Principles  of  State  Interference,  p.  50. 

2  Havelock  Ellis,  The  New  Spirit,  p.  17. 


272  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

more  highly  socialised  form  of  production  and  dis- 
tribution. It  would  thus  be  possible  to  co-ordinate 
production  to  the  probable  demand,  and  crises  would 
be  mitigated  if  not  altogether  abolished.  Many  of 
our  most  pressing  social  problems  would  in  this  way 
solve  themselves. 

No  doubt,  arguments  can  be  brought  against  the 
socialisation  of  monopolies  or  of  common  wants  and 
conveniences ;  but,  if  the  process  goes  on  at  the  rate 
at  which  it  is  now  proceeding  it  will  be  completed 
while  we  argue.  We  may  rest  assured,  however,  that 
the  rate  will  increase  as  education  improves  and 
experience  extends,  for,  as  I  have  said,  the  movement 
is  to  a  large  extent  the  result  of  the  forces  inherent 
in  the  individualistic  system  of  industry.  As  Pro- 
fessor Ely  has  remarked,  "When  we  consider  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  socialisation  of  natural 
monopolies,  we  must  always  remember  what  the  alter- 
native is.  These  difficulties  are  real,  but  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  present  system  are  even  greater."1 

As  I  have  already  pointed  out,2  although  Socialism 
involves  State  control,  State  control  does  not,  accord- 
ing to  the  extreme  Socialist  view,  necessarily  involve 
Socialism.  It  is  not  so  much  the  thing  the  State 
does  as  the  end  for  which  it  does  it,  that  we  must 
look  to,  before  we  can  decide  whether  it  is  a  Social- 
istic State  or  not,  and  Socialists  say  plainly  that  no 
policy  which  would  prolong  the  life  of  private  capital 
a  single  hour  deserves  to  be  called  Socialistic.  What 
are  at  present  usually  called  State  and  Municipal 
Socialism  are  according  to  this  not  socialistic,  for  they 

1  Socialism,  p.  291.  2  Page  180. 


xil  INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION  273 

rest  on  a  basis  of  individual  capital,  and  do  not  involve 
any  principles  which  have  not  been  recognised  in 
every  civilised  community  and  about  which  there  is 
little  difference  of  opinion.  It  seems  to  me,  however, 
that  the  above  socialist  definition  involves  a  distinction 
where  there  is  little  or  no  difference,  for  the  results 
would  ultimately  be  the  same.  As  the  applications 
of  these  principles  gradually  developed,  the  materials 
and  instruments  of  production  would  more  and  more 
come  under  common  control,  and,  if  the  process  were 
slow  enough,  the  results  would  be  the  same,  whatever 
the  opinions  regarding  the  methods  adopted  might  be. 
A  French  writer  has  said :  "  In  all  civilised  societies 
which  have  preceded  our  own,  the  absolute  supremacy 
of  the  unrestrained  and  selfish  right  of  private  property 
has  been  the  forerunner  of  decadence,  the  main  cause 
of  ruin.  A  more  enlightened  humanity,  having  at 
last  succeeded  in  creating  sociological  science,  may, 
we  would  believe,  avoid  the  rock  whereon  Athens 
and  Rome  were  shipwrecked.  It  will  understand  that 
the  war  of  each  against  all  and  all  against  each  cannot 
be  a  sufficiently  solid  social  foundation ;  it  will  per- 
ceive that,  for  the  sake  of  the  common  safety,  it  is 
urgent  to  idealise  the  right  of  property;  not  of  course, 
by  slavishly  copying  institutions  which  their  own 
imperfections  have  destroyed,  but  by  replacing  the 
license  of  the  selfish  right  of  property  by  an  organisa- 
tion which  while  it  is  altruistic,  is  also  reasonable, 
scientific,  upholding  without  annihilating  the  indi- 
vidual, leaving  his  freedom  and  his  initiative  unfet- 
tered." "     The  same  author  remarks  that  "  the  debate, 

1  Letourneau,  Property,  Preface,  p.  xi. 


274  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

or  rather  the  conflict,  has  already  begun ;  the  new 
world  is  striving  against  the  old.  What  will  be  the 
issue  of  the  conflict  ?  "  Like  him,  I  am  amongst  those 
who  have  faith  in  the  future. 

There  will  be  an  increasing  demand  for  all  fictitious 
capital  to  disappear,  or  at  least  for  its  revenues  to  be 
applied  in  some  way  or  another  to  the  benefit  of  the 
community.  Further  there  will  be  a  growing  tendency 
for  the  ownership  of  legitimate  capital  not  to  be  vested 
so  much  in  individuals  as  in  organisations,  in  many 
cases  of  a  co-operative  nature,  or  in  Municipalities, 
Councils  and  even  States,  in  all  of  which  the  workers 
will  be  represented,  and  which  will  carry  on  their 
operations  in  the  interests  of  the  whole  community. 
These  bodies  will  charge  the  full  economic  rent  for 
the  use  of  the  lands  and  buildings  under  their  con- 
trol and  apply  it  for  the  common  purposes  of  the 
community,  a  proceeding  which  is  fully  justified  by 
scientific  principles.  Socialised  capital  and  means  of 
production,  can,  no  more  than  individualistic,  neglect 
the  requirements  of  economic  efficiency. 

Not  only  is  there  a  growing  tendency  to  munici- 
palise or  socialise  industrial  concerns,  but  also  to 
change  the  ideals  of  the  rights  of  property  generally. 
In  fact,  it  is  gradually  being  recognised  that  property 
has  no  rights  apart  from  duties.  Public  opinion  is 
quickly  coming  to  see  the  necessity  for  the  State 
levying  a  heavy  tax  on  all  whose  incomes  are  much 
beyond  what  is  necessary  to  keep  them  in  comfort, 
and  increasing  the  death  duties  in  the  cases  of  those 
who  leave  large  fortunes.  The  recent  action  of  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  only  marks  the  begin- 
ning of  a  movement  which  is  certain  to  extend.     He 


INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION 


275 


answered  his  critics  by  reminding  them  that  no  man 
has  any  natural  right  to  control  the  succession  to  his 
property  after  his  death,  and  that  the  power  to  make 
wills  or  settlements  in  succession  is  the  creation  of 
positive  law  which  prescribes  the  limits  and  condi- 
tions of  such  power. 

Such  an  evolution  with  regard  to  private  property 
would  involve  a  change  in  the  ideas  of  the  relative 
rights  of  the  individual  and  the  community.  This 
change  has  indeed  already  begun  and  its  necessity  is 
recognised  by  all  thoughtful  men.  Professor  T.  H. 
Green  said :  "  The  dissociation  of  innate  rights  from 
innate  duties  has  gone  along  with  the  delusion  that 
such  rights  existed  apart  from  society.  Men  were 
supposed  to  have  existed  in  a  state  of  nature  which 
was  not  a  state  of  society,  but  in  which  certain  rights 
attached  to  them  as  individuals,  and  then  to  have 
formed  societies  by  contract  or  covenant.  Society 
having  been  formed,  certain  other  rights  arose  through 
positive  enactment,  but  none  of  these,  it  was  held, 
could  interfere  with  the  natural  rights  which  belonged 
to  men  antecedently  to  the  social  contract  or  sur- 
vived it. 

"  Such  a  theory  can  only  be  stated  by  an  applica- 
tion to  an  imaginary  state  of  things,  prior  to  the 
formation  of  societies  as  regulated  by  custom  or  law, 
of  terms  which  have  no  meaning  except  in  relation  to 
such  societies.  '  Natural  right,'  as  right  in  a  state  of 
nature  which  is  not  a  state  of  society,  is  a  contradic- 
tion. There  can  be  no  right  without  a  consciousness 
of  common  interest  on  the  part  of  members  of  a 
society.  Without  this  there  might  be  certain  powers 
on  the  part  of  individuals,  but  no  recognition  of  those 


276  THE   EVOLUTION  OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

powers  by  others  as  powers  of  which  they  allow  the 
exercise,  nor  any  claim  to  such  recognition ;  and  with- 
out this  recognition  or  claim  to  recognition  there  can 
be  no  right."  1  In  short,  a  right  is  nothing  but  what 
the  good  of  society  makes  it. 

A  well-known  socialist,  speaking  of  what  he  believes 
to  be  the  last  stage  in  the  industrial  revolution,  has 
said:  "The  proletariat  seizes  the  public  power,  and 
by  means  of  this  transforms  the  socialised  means  of 
production,  slipping  from  the  hands  of  the  bourgeoisie, 
into  public  property.  By  this  act  the  proletariat  frees 
the  means  of  production  from  the  character  of  capital 
they  have  thus  far  borne,  and  gives  their  socialised 
character  complete  freedom  to  work  itself  out.  Social- 
ised production  upon  a  predetermined  plan  becomes 
henceforth  possible.  The  development  of  production 
makes  the  existence  of  different  classes  of  society 
thenceforth  an  anachronism.  In  proportion  as  an- 
archy in  social  production  vanishes,  the  political 
authority  of  the  State  dies  out.  Man,  at  last  the 
master  of  his  own  form  of  social  organisation,  be- 
comes at  the  same  time  the  lord  over  nature,  his  own 
master — free."2  Words  of  this  sort  when  taken  liter- 
ally are  responsible  for  a  great  deal  of  mischief.  To 
speak  of  the  proletariat  seizing  the  public  power,  as  if 
this  were  possible  by  a  single  act,  is  simple  nonsense. 
They  are  seizing  this  power  just  as  quickly  as  they 
are  qualified  to  use  it,  and  the  rate  of  progress  depends 
on  their  own  intellectual  and  moral  development.  If 
ever  all  the  materials  and  instruments  of  production 

1  Principles  of  Political  Obligation,  Philosophical  Works,  vol.  ii.  p. 
354,  2nd  ed.,  1890. 

2  Engels,  Socialism,  Utopian  and  Scientific,  p.  86. 


INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION 


277 


come  to  be  owned  by  the  community  or  by  the  State, 
the  change  will  be  brought  about  by  the  slow  evolu- 
tion of  the  different  movements  which  are  now  going 
on,  and  by  their  integration  into  a  harmonious  unity. 
Anything  in  the  shape  of  a  sudden  revolution  before 
economic  and  moral  conditions  were  properly  prepared 
would  simply  bring  confusion  and  despotism.  As  Mr. 
Sydney  Webb  has  said :  "  The  progress  of  Socialism 
may  be  compared  to  the  approximation  of  the  hyper- 
bola to  its  asymptote  ;  the  time  may  never  arrive  when 
individual  is  merged  in  collective  ownership,  but  it  is 
a  matter  of  common  observation  that  every  attempt 
to  grapple  with  the  '  difficulties '  of  our  existing  civili- 
sation brings  us  nearer  to  that  goal."  On  this  subject 
Professor  Graham  has  said:  "Society  may  indeed  come 
to  the  collective  ownership  of  land  and  capital,  but  it 
will  not  be  for  a  long  time ;  it  may  come  to  equality 
of  material  goods,  but  it  will  be  at  a  time  still  more 
remote.  On  the  other  hand,  the  system  of  private 
property  and  freedom  of  contract  may  last  indefinitely 
or  for  ever,  but  if  it  does,  we  may  safely  prophesy  that 
it  will  be  brought  more  in  accordance  with  reason, 
justice  and  the  general  good,  and  though  there  be 
never  equality  of  property,  there  will  be  a  nearer 
approach  to  equality  of  opportunities,  and  a  somewhat 
nearer  approximation  of  the  existing  great  extremes  of 
fortune."  1  Even  under  a  dynasty  of  socialist  emper- 
ors, as  such  he  pictured  possible  in  Germany,  Rod- 
bertus  "gave  five  hundred  years  for  the  completion  of 
the  economic  revolution  he  contemplated,  because  he 
acknowledged  it  would  take  all  that  time  for  society 

1  Socialism,  New  and  Old,  p.  412. 


278  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

to  acquire  the  moral  principle  and  habitual  firmness 
of  will  which  would  alone  enable  it  to  dispense  with 
the  institutions  of  private  property  and  inheritance 
without  suffering  serious  injury."  1  Although  Henry 
George  is  not  a  socialist,  and  expects  a  new  social 
and  economic  world  from  his  scheme  of  land  reform, 
he  admits  that  "the  idea  of  Socialism  is  grand  and 
noble;  and  is  possible  of  realisation,  but  such  a  state 
of  society  cannot  be  manufactured  —  it  must  grow. 
Society  is  an  organism,  not  a  machine.  And  it  can 
only  live  by  the  individual  life  of  its  parts.  And  in 
the  free  and  natural  development  of  all  the  parts  will 
be  secured  the  harmony  of  the  whole."  2 

The  reasonable  demands  of  the  workers,  at  least 
those  who  are  organised,  are  being  gradually  conceded 
as  regards  general  social  conditions ;  and  as  the  organ- 
isation of  industry  develops,  all  classes  will  be  able  to 
make  their  influence  felt,  and  cause  their  demands  at 
least  to  be  considered,  and  thus  bring  about  a  social- 
isation of  industry.  It  is  in  this  way  that  the  workers 
must  seize  the  materials  and  instruments  of  produc- 
tion, and  not  by  any  violent  upheaval  of  existing 
conditions.  The  seizure  must,  in  short,  be  economic 
and  not  physical.  It  will  be  rendered  all  the  more 
easy  by  the  growth  of  a  social  spirit  on  the  part  of 
the  public  and  of  the  employers.  Professor  Walker 
has  remarked  :  "  I  cannot  but  believe  that,  as  the 
working  classes  advance  in  individual  and  mutual 
intelligence,  and  push  their  employers  closer  with 
a  more  searching  and  vital  competition,  more  and 
more  will  the  reward  of  the  employer  come  to  con- 

1  Rae,  Contetnporary  Soda/ism,  2nd  ed.,  p.  381. 

2  Progress  and  Poverty,  Popular  Edition,  p.  228. 


INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION 


279 


sist  of  the  zest  of  intellectual  activity,  the  joys  of 
creative  energy,  the  honour  of  directing  affairs  and 
the  social  distinctions  of  mastership."  * 

The  legislators  of  the  future  will  not  attempt  to 
deny  the  rights  of  private  wealth :  they  will  sim- 
ply insist  on  the  performance  of  the  corresponding 
duties,  and  leave  the  results  to  work  out.  They 
will  make  it  increasingly  difficult  for  people  to  live 
upon  unearned  incomes.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
equalisation  of  opportunities  will  reduce  the  rewards 
of  extra  ability.  These  two  tendencies  will  cause  all, 
save  the  young,  the  physically  unfit  and  the  old,  to 
be  usefully  employed,  and  at  the  same  time  bring 
about  a  considerable  equalisation  of  social  and  eco- 
nomic conditions.  No  doubt  as  these  improve  the 
young  will  be  allowed  proper  time  to  develop  both 
physically  and  mentally  before  being  set  to  work ; 
while  those  above  middle-age,  having  done  their  fair 
share  of  production,  will  gradually  reduce  their  hours 
of  labour,  and  pass  the  latter  part  of  their  days  in 
peaceful  and  healthful  enjoyment,  both  intellectual 
and  physical. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  exactly  what  shape  the 
ownership  of  property  will  take  in  the  future,  al- 
though some  of  the  main  lines  of  the  evolution 
are  very  evident.  The  resumption  of  the  owner- 
ship of  the  land,  in  some  form,  by  the  community 
is  a  first  essential  to  equality  of  opportunity;  and 
the  methods  to  be  adopted  to  bring  this  about 
will  require  very  careful  consideration,  and  must  be 
comparatively  slow  in  their  operations.     Voluntary 

1  The  Wages  Question,  p.  260. 


280  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

associations  and  private  enterprise  in  various  shapes 
will  for  many  a  day  have  considerable  scope  for  use- 
ful action.  Gradually,  however,  the  more  important 
organisations  required  by  the  whole  of  the  people 
will  be  taken  over  by  the  State,  and  municipalities 
will  continue  to  extend  their  operations  for  supplying 
the  common  wants  of  their  respective  communities 
and  adding  to  the  means  for  increasing  their  welfare 
in  every  department  of  life,  and  all  their  property  will 
be  held  for  the  common  good.  On  the  other  hand, 
we  may  rest  assured  that  for  many  a  generation  to 
come  private  property  will  exist  in  all  things  of  a 
personal  nature,  and  which  can  be  used  directly  by 
the  owners.  A  man's  house  will  still  be  his  castle, 
although  even  in  that  many  arrangements  will  be 
made  which  will  lead  not  only  to  economy,  but  also 
to  convenience  and  happiness.  The  whole  organisa- 
tion will  be  co-ordinated,  so  that  there  will  be  no 
unnecessary  expenditure  of  energy  and  wealth,  and 
every  part  of  it  will  be  worked  in  the  interests  of  the 
community. 

Sometimes,  even  at  the  present  day,  the  fear  is 
expressed  that  in  the  tendency  towards  municipalisa- 
The  Future  tion  and  organisation,  the  individual  may 
individual  become  municipalised,  and  all  opportunity 
^duai""  ^or  originality  be  denied  him.  As  it  is,  in 
ism.  our  own  time  no  one  who  occupies  anything 

like  a  public  position  can  avoid  feeling  that  his  life 
has  ceased  to  be  his  own.  This  arises  from  the  want 
of  a  more  perfect  organisation  and  a  more  general 
civic  spirit ;  for  it  is  observed  that  the  greater  part  of 
the  burdens  of  public  life  fall  on  a  very  limited  num- 
ber of  individuals,  whereas  if  all  realised  that  it  was 


xii  INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION  28 1 

their  duty  to  take  a  fair  share  of  public  work,  the 
amount  required  of  each  would  not  be  felt  to  en- 
croach on  individual  liberty  to  any  great  extent. 

As  J.  S.  Mill  pointed  out,  "  individuality  is  an  ele- 
ment of  wellbeing,"  and  any  organisation  of  society 
which  attempted  to  run  all  individuals,  all  institutions 
and  opinions  in  common  moulds  would  be  disastrous. 
But,  after  all,  it  must  be  remembered  that  real  liberty 
is  to  be  found  in  the  conditions  which  enable  a  man 
to  make  the  most  of  himself.  What  is  too  often 
called  liberty  at  present  does  not  do  this.  With  not 
a  few  it  means  liberty  to  starve.  With  many  it  means 
liberty  to  engage  in  a  fierce  struggle  with  their  fellows, 
not  only  for  wealth  but  even  for  existence.  With  a 
considerable  number  it  means  liberty  to  exploit  the 
community  for  their  own  selfish  ends.  With  a  small 
but  increasing  number  it  means  liberty  to  devote  a 
great  part  of  their  energy  to  advancing  the  welfare  of 
the  community  or  of  humanity,  for  altruism  becomes 
an  impelling  and  governing  power  in  human  conduct 
when  it  is  not  swamped  by  conditions  which  tend  to 
the  encouragement  of  selfishness.  They  have  become 
convinced  of  the  fact  that  our  individualism  has  lost 
us  individuality,  and  they  strive  to  obtain  sufficient 
independence  to  regain  this. 

The  individualism  of  the  future  will  be  limited 
only  by  a  recognition  of  the  rights  of  each  member 
of  the  community,  for  no  society  can  permanently 
exist  in  a  healthy  condition,  nor  is  individual  liberty 
possible,  unless  the  liberty  of  all  be  respected  and 
preserved.  Otherwise  society  tends  to  fall  asunder, 
and  all  are  in  danger  of  losing  the  advantages  which 
ought   to   arise   from   a    social    state.      As    a   very 


282  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

thoughtful  writer  has  said  :  "  Individual  liberty  can- 
not long  subsist,  nor  reach  any  degree  of  perfection 
or  completeness  at  all  commensurate  with  its  de- 
mands, without  the  maintenance  of  social  liberty ; 
the  latter  can  only  exist  and  be  conserved  through 
a  check  upon  the  wills  and  actions  of  the  individuals 
composing  a  society,  imposed  upon  them  by  the  prac- 
tical recognition  of  reciprocal  rights  and  duties  as 
existing  between  man  and  man."  1 

The  check  which  is  exercised  is  educated  public 
opinion  acting  either  directly  or  through  legislation 
or  administration  which  embodies  that  opinion.  .  All 
enactments  affecting  social  and  industrial  action 
should  therefore  have  for  their  object  the  mainte- 
nance of  social  liberty.  Great  care,  however,  requires 
to  be  exercised  in  the  extension  of  the  control,  so  that 
it  may  produce  the  effects  which  are  intended  and 
not  simply  be  a  hindrance  to  effective  action.  A 
high  standard  of  individual  conduct  will  ultimately 
render  it  almost  unnecessary,  and  produce  the  same 
results  as  are  aimed  at  by  those  who  would  indefi- 
nitely extend  the  sphere  of  legislation.  F.  D.  Maurice 
was  of  opinion  that  "not  capital,  or  labour,  or  land 
or  goods,  but  human  relations  lie  at  the  root  of  all 
social  reforms."  "All  questions  between  employers 
and  employed  are  to  be  solved  that  way.  Seek  ye 
first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness ; 
what  is  right  and  just  and  loving  and  fair  between 
man  and  man,  the  discovery  of  that  is  the  only  solu- 
tion of  all  these  stormy  questions.  Strikes,  struggles, 
starvation  prices,  sweating  middlemen,  grasping  mer- 

1  D.  G.  Thompson,  Social  Progress,  p.  19. 


xii  INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION  283 

chant  princes  —  the  gulf  between  the  rich  who  grew 
richer  and  the  poor  who  grew  poorer  would,  he 
thought,  never  be  bridged  by  political  economy  or 
legislation  —  Eight  Hours'  Day  Bills  and  so  forth. 
No,  nothing  but  right  human  relations  —  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  set  up  on  earth."1  On  the  same 
subject  Mr.  Froude  has  said :  "  The  penalties  of 
duties  neglected  are  to  the  full  as  terrible  as  those 
of  sins  committed;  more  terrible,  perhaps,  because 
more  palpable  and  sure.  A  lord  of  the  land,  or  an 
employer  of  labour,  supposes  that  he  has  no  duty  ex- 
cept to  keep  what  he  calls  the  Commandments  in  his 
own  person,  to  go  to  church,  and  to  do  what  he  will 
with  his  own,  — and  Irish  famines  follow,  and  trade 
strikes,  and  chartisms,  and  Paris  revolutions.  We 
look  for  a  remedy  in  impossible  legislative  enact- 
ments, and  there  is  but  one  remedy  which  will  avail 
—  that  the  thing  which  we  call  public  opinion  learn 
something  of  the  meaning  of  human  obligation,  and 
demand  some  approximation  to  it." 

There  is  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  these  opinions, 
and  it  is  desirable  that  the  restraint  on  the  individual 
should  come  from  within  and  not  from  without.  All 
real  socialism,  therefore,  must  largely  be  socialised 
individualism.  In  the  meantime,  however,  advanced 
public  opinion  must  lead  the  way  by  improved  ad- 
ministration and  legislation,  and  the  results  be  sub- 
jected to  free  criticism,  so  that  persistence  in  a  wrong 
course  may  be  avoided.  There  is  a  danger  in  legisla- 
tive enactments  and  municipal  and  State  adminis- 
tration coming  to  be  considered  infallible,  and  the 

1  H.  R.  Haweis,  Contemporary  Review,  June  1894,  p.  882. 


284  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

members  of  the  community  becoming  mere  parts  of 
a  large  official  organisation  which  goes  on  blindly  till 
a  crash  occurs,  or  till,  as  in  China,  the  whole  system 
becomes  fossilised. 

One  of  the  most  important  functions  of  education 
should  be  to  impart  an  intelligent  idea  of  the  duties 
and  responsibilities  of  Citizenship,  and  to  train  men 
and  women  who,  while  they  have  minds  which  are 
tolerant  and  open  to  reason,  have  also  convictions  of 
duty  and  determination  enough  to  cause  them  to  be 
carried  into  practical  effect.  It  is  only  by  a  due 
balance  of  these  qualities  that  we  can  hope  for  any 
real  social  progress,  and  for  a  satisfactory  solution  of 
the  difficulties  connected  with  liberty  and  authority. 
While,  therefore,  individualism,  as  at  present  under- 
stood, may  be  tempered  and  modified,  it  is  neither 
desirable  nor  probable  that  it  will  be  displaced. 
Under  an  organised  society  mere  formal  liberty  may 
be  diminished,  but  substantial  freedom  will  be  in- 
creased, for  we  may  rest  assured  that  any  forms  of 
collectivism  which  do  not  allow  the  free  development 
of  the  individual  stand  condemned. 

A  writer  from  whom  I  have  already  quoted  has 
said :  "  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  point  out  that 
while  the  process  of  socialisation  is  rapidly  developing, 
individual  development,  so  far  from  stopping,  is  pro- 
gressing no  less  rapidly.  It  is  too  often  forgotten 
that  the  former  is  but  the  means  to  secure  the  latter. 
While  we  are  socialising  all  those  things  of  which 
all  have  equal  common  need,  we  are  more  and  more 
tending  to  leave  to  the  individual  the  control  of  those 
things  which  in  our  complex  civilisation  constitute 
individuality.     We  socialise  what  we  call  our  physical 


xii  INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION  285 

life  in  order  that  we  may  obtain  greater  freedom  for 
what  we  call  our  spiritual  life."  * 

The  question  will  no  doubt  be  asked,  What  will 
be  left  to  the  individual  when  industry  has  been 
organised  in  the  manner  which  I  have  indicated? 
It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  answer  this  question 
exactly,  but,  as  I  have  said,  we  cannot  be  far  wrong 
in  concluding  that  collective  action  will  in  the  main 
be  confined  to  organised  material  industry,  carried 
on  on  a  large  scale  with  all  the  aids  of  science  and 
machinery,  and  to  those  products  which  are  necessary 
to  the  common  wants  of  a  civilised  community,  and 
which  are  within  the  reach  of  the  greater  number  of 
its  members.  During  the  transition  stage  of  society 
individual  enterprise  would  find  ample  scope  in  or- 
ganising industry  and  making  it  ready  for  collective 
management  in  some  form. 

For  many  a  day,  however,  as  I  have  pointed  out, 
individual  establishments  will  be  able  to  hold  their  own 
in  many  departments,  notwithstanding  all  that  can  be 
done  by  co-operation  or  other  collective  agencies. 
They  would,  however,  be  compelled  to  raise  their 
standard  both  as  to  quality  and  the  attention  that 
is  paid  to  the  general  convenience  of  the  public. 
The  field  of  operations  of  private  industry  will  be 
narrowed,  but  it  will  be  on  a  higher  industrial  and 
ethical  plane  than  we  have  now. 

Many  of  the  less  important  industries  and  trades 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  luxuries  of  life  may  safely 
be  left  in  the  hands  of  individuals ;  and  when  things 
are  made  for  use  and  not  for  profit,  these  will  occupy 

1  Havelock  Ellis,  The  New  Spirit,  p.  17. 


286  THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

part  of  the  leisure  time  of  the  workers  in  the  large 
industries,  and  afford  the  means  of  healthy  recrea- 
tion. Artistic,  intellectual  and  spiritual  occupations 
will  all  be  outside  the  ordinary  industrial  sphere, 
and  will  become  the  chief  objects  of  life,  and  Herbert 
Spencer's  ideal  will  be  reached  and  "  the  future  social 
type  will  neither  use  the  products  of  industry  for 
maintaining  a  militant  organisation  nor  exclusively 
for  material  aggrandisement,  but  will  devote  them 
to  the  carrying  on  of  higher  activities — a  type  which, 
instead  of  believing  that  '  life  is  for  work,'  will  hold 
the  inverse  belief  that  '  work  is  for  life.'  "  x  In  short, 
all  will  realise  the  truth  of  what  Aristotle  taught 
long  ago,  namely,  that  the  State  "comes  into  being 
that  men  may  live,  but  exists  that  they  may  live 
well."  There  is  after  all  no  real  opposition  be- 
tween true  socialism  and  true  individualism.  One 
of  the  Fabian  essayists  has  said :  "  The  true  issue 
lies  between  Socialism  and  Unsocialism,  and  not  be- 
tween Socialism  and  that  very  instinct  in  us  that 
leads  us  to  Socialism  by  its  rebellion  against  the 
squalid  levelling  down,  the  brutal  repression,  the  reg- 
imenting and  drilling,  the  conventionalising  of  the 
great  mass  of  us  to-day,  in  order  that  a  lucky  few 
may  bore  themselves  to  death  for  want  of  anything 
to  do,  and  be  afraid  to  walk  down  Bond  Street  with- 
out a  regulation  hat  and  coat  on.  It  is  the  revolt 
of  Individualism  against  the  present  system  that  has 
produced  Socialism,  and  will  push  it  to  its  consum- 
mation."2    There  is  considerable  truth  in  this  state- 


1  Principles  of  Sociology,  vol.  i.  p.  563. 

2  G.  Bernard  Shaw,  Fortnightly  Review,  April  1894,  p.  490. 


xil  INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION  287 

ment,  but,  at  the  same  time,  if  the  methods  proposed 
by  many  of  the  socialists  were  adopted,  they  would 
intensify  the  evils  complained  of.  In  short,  much 
more  importance  should  be  attached  to  the  spirit 
with  which  the  work  is  undertaken  and  carried  on 
than  to  the  form  of  the  organisation,  for,  if  its  social 
aspects  be  kept  clearly  in  view,  the  ultimate  results 
would  be  the  same.  If  we  had  a  community  of  good- 
ness, a  community  of  goods  might  not  immediately 
follow,  but  we  would  soon  have  such  an  adjustment 
of  social  conditions  as  to  render  any  formal  legisla- 
tion on  the  subject  unnecessary.  Above  all,  mutual 
aid  would  be  very  much  extended,  and  every  one  would 
have  ample  opportunities  of  sharing  in  work  which 
advanced  the  welfare  of  the  whole  community. 

A  socialised  individualism  would  render  unneces- 
sary any  wide  extension  of  municipal  or  State  control 
or  management  beyond  that  of  the  common  wants  of 
the  community.  Professor  Foxwell  has  pointed  out 
that  "  the  solidarity  and  interdependence  of  the  mod- 
ern economic  world  makes  the  old  individualism  an 
absurdity.  From  a  modern  economic  point  of  view 
there  is  no  such  thing,  in  strictness,  as  a  mere  indi- 
vidual. Market  prices,  wages,  profits,  all  these  are 
social,  not  individual  products.  Every  man's  eco- 
nomic acts  more  or  less  affect  every  one  else ;  and 
every  one  is  dependent  on  others  for  the  means  of 
economic  action.  The  individual,  therefore,  cannot 
complain  if  he  is  asked  to  publish  his  transactions, 
or  to  submit  them  to  regulations  conceived  in  the 
common  interest.  He  cannot  expect  to  live  in  an 
elaborate  modern  society,  reaping  all  the  benefits  of 
a  complicated  civilisation,   and  admitting  no  corre- 


288  THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

sponding  obligations.  Not  that  this  involves  the 
acceptance  of  a  communistic  policy.  There  is  no 
need  to  substitute  socialism  for  individualism  :  this 
would  but  leave  matters  worse  than  before,  so  long  as 
the  individual  remained  unchanged.  What  is  wanted 
is  to  socialise  the  individual.  No  means  will  promote 
this  end  more  effectively  than  organisation  and  pub- 
licity. They  stand  in  the  first  rank  of  social  duties 
and  socialising  agents."  1 

The  movements  which  are  now  developing  for  the 
publication  of  information  regarding  commerce  and 
industry,  both  in  this  country  and  in  other  countries, 
as  well  as  the  various  national  and  international  ar- 
rangements which  are  gradually  being  made,  are  all 
tending  to  the  evolution  of  more  general  social  feel- 
ing which  will  render  direct  State  management  un- 
necessary in  many  departments,  although  a  certain 
amount  of  control  may  be  required  to  prevent  the 
possibility  of  the  interests  of  the  community  being 
lost  sight  of.  If,  after  paying  all  legitimate  charges, 
the  goods  were  sold  at  the  cost  of  production,  nothing 
more  would  be  wanted.  Still  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  higher  individualism  will  gradually  change 
its  form.  Probably  the  first  step  will  be'  to  give  a 
direct  interest  to  all  engaged  in  the  different  con- 
cerns. If  the  profits  beyond  this  were  socialised,  by 
means  of  a  graduated  income-tax,  there  need  be  no 
change  in  the  system  of  management. 

The  industrial  guilds  might  cause  a  very  great 
advance  in  the  direction  of  co-operative  production 
if  they  invested  part  of  their  funds  in  the  businesses 

1  The  Claims  of  Labour,  p.  270. 


INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION 


289 


which  gave  employment  to  their  members.  Such  a 
step,  however,  would  require  to  be  taken  with  great 
caution,  and  only  when  the  business  was  of  a  very 
steady  and  secure  nature.  It  is  not  wise  for  the 
workers  to  put  all  their  eggs  into  one  basket,  and  it 
would  be  most  disastrous  to  them  if  they  lost  not 
only  their  employment  but  also  whatever  capital  they 
had  saved. 

Even  if  the  workers  were  the  proprietors  some  such 
tax  would  be  necessary,  for,  while  such  provisional 
steps  as  have  been  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter 
may  not  only  be  advisable  but  absolutely  necessary, 
it  would  be  as  far  wrong,  both  ethically  and  econom- 
ically, to  allow  any  section  of  the  workers  to  dictate 
their  own  terms  as  it  would  be  for  a  more  limited 
number  of  large  capitalists.  The  trade  sectionalism 
which  demands  the  mines  for  the  miners,  the  iron- 
works for  the  ironworkers,  the  shipyards  for  the  ship- 
builders, the  bakeries  for  the  bakers,  or  even  the  land 
for  the  farmers,  is  only  a  modified  form  of  individual- 
ism which  would  continue,  and  probably  intensify,  at 
least  for  a  considerable  part  of  the  community,  many 
of  the  present  social  and  economic  difficulties.  It  is 
evident,  therefore,  that  the  industrial  organisation  of 
the  future  is  likely  to  be  as  varied  as  that  of  the 
present,  at  least  as  regards  its  details,  and  that  the 
chief  difference  will  be  that  the  social  results  will 
always  be  distinctly  kept  in  view. 

In  addition  to  the  general  process  of  co-ordination 
and  integration  which  is  going  on,  it  is  probable  that 
there  will  be  another  movement  of  a  local  Local  in- 
nature  which  will  ultimately  have  most  im-  te&rat,on- 
portant  economic  and  social  results.     It  is  being  ob- 


290  THE  EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

served  even  now  that  the  development  of  machinery, 
after  having  led  to  the  extreme  division  of  labour,  is 
tending  to  produce  an  opposite  effect.  The  late  Mr. 
Werner  Siemens  was  of  opinion  that  "the  goal  of  the 
revolution  of  science  will  not  be  a  man  of  great  fac- 
tories in  the  hands  of  rich  capitalists,  in  which  the 
'slaves  of  labour'  drag  out  their  monotonous  exist- 
ence, but  the  return  to  individual  labour."  The 
factory  system  will  continue,  and  no  doubt  be  ex- 
tended, for  the  supply  of  the  common  necessaries 
of  life,  but  the  applications  of  electricity  and  other 
methods  of  obtaining  motive  power  will  enable  large 
numbers  of  small  industries  to  be  carried  on  in  coun- 
try districts.  This  movement  will  ultimately  bring 
about  a  society  of  integrated  labour,  which  will 
alternate  the  work  of  the  field  with  that  of  the  work- 
shop and  manufactory.  In  order  that  the  evils  aris- 
ing from  unlimited  competition  may  be  avoided,  these 
departments  of  work  will  all  be  so  co-ordinated  that  a 
considerable  region  will  to  a  large  extent  be  self-con- 
tained as  regards  its  requirements,  and  will  produce 
and  consume  its  own  agricultural  and  manufactured 
necessaries  of  life.  A  study  of  social  conditions  in 
the  Middle  Ages,  when  federations  between  small 
territorial  units,  as  well  as  among  men  united  by 
common  pursuits  within  their  respective  guilds,  and 
federations  between  cities  and  groups  of  cities  con- 
stituted the  very  essence  of  life  and  thought,  would 
afford  many  useful  hints  for  the  details  of  the 
methods  to  be  pursued  in  local  integration.  But  it 
should  always  be  remembered  that  the  mediaeval 
cities  were  not  organised  on  a  preconceived  plan  in 
obedience  to  the  will  of  an  outside  legislator,  but  de- 


xii  INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION 


291 


pended  on  local  and  individual  initiative  for  their 
development.  While  the  main  lines  of  the  organisa- 
tion might  be  laid  down  by  a  central  authority,  as 
much  liberty  as  possible  should  be  given  to  localities 
in  making  their  own  arrangements. 

At  the  present  time,  moreover,  there  is  a  strong 
drift  in  the  direction  of  the  multiplication  of  small 
holdings  and  allotments  of  lands,  and  a  tendency  to. 
return  to  the  individualist  agricultural  producers  of 
the  mediaeval  type,  a  tendency  which  at  first  sight 
seems  to  be  opposed  to  that  of  the  industrial  revo- 
lution. This,  however,  is  not  really  so ;  it  rather 
proves  that  the  most  recent  developments  of  machin- 
ery and  agriculture  are  in  the  same  direction,  and 
that  the  one  may  be  made  to  supplement  the  other, 
a  process  which  would  be  comparatively  simple  if  the 
land  were  owned  by  the  whole  community,  and  the 
rents  paid  into  the  common  treasury. 

Modern  economic  and  industrial  conditions  and 
an  improved  social  spirit  are  thus  making  possible 
the  realisation  of  the  dreams  of  the  early  socialists, 
who  attempted  to  carry  them  out  before  the  times 
were  ripe.  The  local  integration  I  have  men- 
tioned would  make  home  colonies  possible,  in  which 
the  two  great  branches  of  human  industry,  agriculture 
and  manufactures,  would  be  united,  and  in  which  truly 
human  lives  would  be  possible.  These  would  be  made 
more  complete  by  means  of  co-operative  or  associated 
homes,  in  which  there  would  not  only  be  a  great 
economy  of  material,  but  also  a  greater  efficiency 
of  intellectual  and  moral,  resources. 

One  of  the  leaders  of  the  co-operative  movement, 
Mr.  E.  V.  Neale,  who  was  also  an  earnest  social  re- 


292  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

former  in  the  wider  sense,  said:  "A  co-operative 
colony  of  separate  homes  would  rest  upon  legs  in- 
harmonious in  their  movements,  and  therefore  leading 
to  a  fall.  For  either  the  houses  and  their  immediate 
belongings  must  be  excepted  from  the  collective  prop- 
erty and  held  in  separate  ownership,  with  a  perpetu- 
ation of  the  evils  from  which  co-operative  economy 
professes  to  deliver  us  and  the  certainty  of  keeping 
alive  the  dispositions  whence  these  evils  arise  ;  or  the 
occupiers  must  be  mere  tenants  at  will,  without  any 
sense  of  ownership  in  their  dwellings,  and  subject  to 
continual  friction  between  their  individual  likings  and 
the  regulations  made  by  the  general  body.  From  this 
choice  of  evils  there  lies  a  happy  escape  through  the 
idea  of  the  Associated  Home,  which  can  secure  to  its 
inmates  all  the  privacy  they  can  attain  in  a  village 
community,  combined  with  a  facility  of  intercourse 
and  readiness  of  access  to  all  the  common  insti- 
tutions for  education,  instruction,  recreation  and  do- 
mestic comfort  which  the  resources  of  the  community 
might  allow  it  to  establish,  such  as  isolated  dwellings 
cannot  afford  ;  while  yet  the  instinct  of  property  in 
house  and  land  might  find  a  legitimate  satisfaction  in 
the  consciousness  of  each  individual  that  he  was  part 
owner  of  a  social  palace  and  its  surrounding  domains, 
with  a  separate  •  right  to  his  own  apartments  in  it; 
and  that  without  danger  of  any  conflict  between  gen- 
eral and  individual  rights,  because  each  would  have  a 
clearly  defined  sphere  of  action;  the  one  compris- 
ing the  construction  of  the  palace  and  all  that  con- 
cerned the  common  convenience,  the  other  limited  to 
the  internal  fittings-up  and  the  arrangement  of  the 
part  in  each  inmate's  own  occupation.  .  .  .     Groups 


xii  INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION  293 

of  such  homes  might  spring  up  in  localities  which 
for  any  reason  attracted  a  numerous  population,  who 
might  find  occupation  in  industrial  establishments 
distinct  from  any  of  them,  and  from  residences  pos- 
sessing the  semi-rural  enjoyments  lavished  by  the 
imagination  of  Dr.  Richardson  on  his  City  of  Health. 
And  here  it  might  be  found  that  large  central  bazaars, 
independent  of  either  houses  or  industrial  establish- 
ments, though  affiliated  with  them,  might  furnish 
depots  for  the  distribution  of  many  articles  more 
convenient  than  the  stores  within  the  homes  where 
articles  of  food  would  naturally  be  supplied.  So  that 
production,  distribution  and  home  residence  would 
again  acquire  the  independence  now  belonging  to 
them,  without  the  evils  now  attending  them." 

There  is  going  on  at  the  same  time  an  international 
movement  which,  while  it  may  not  strictly  be  called 
an  integration,  is  somewhat  of  that  nature,      Inter_ 
and  is  certain  to  be  very  much  developed  in     national 

Relations. 

the  future.  Relations  of  all  kinds  between 
the  different  countries  of  the  world  are  being  very 
much  extended,  and  the  conditions  of  trade  and 
industry  made  the  same  so  far  as  circumstances 
will  admit.  The  post  and  the  telegraph  have  been 
internationalised  in  all  civilised  countries,  and  the 
same  is  largely  true  of  the  railways.  In  currency 
the  decimal  system  has  been  adopted  to  a  consid- 
erable extent,  and  one  of  the  problems  of  the  day  is 
a  proper  international  standard.  Statistics  are  now 
published  which  help  manufacturers  to  co-ordinate 
supply  and  demand,  and  information  is  collected 
by  the  representatives  of  the  different  countries  re- 
garding  the   nature  of  the   goods   which  are  most 


294  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

likely  to  be  wanted.  Co-operative  societies  are  ex- 
tending their  operations  to  some  departments  of  the 
export  trade,  and  are  entering  into  friendly  relations 
with  societies  in  the  different  countries.  The  trade 
unions  hold  international  congresses  for  the  purpose 
of  trying  to  settle  the  hours  and  general  conditions 
of  labour  on  something  like  a  uniform  plan.  The 
medical  men  and  sanitarians  meet  and  discuss  the 
conditions  of  public  health,  and  the  engineers  the  great 
public  works  which  are  necessary  to  advance  the 
friendship  of  the  nations.  These  and  many  other 
similar  movements  mark  the  beginning  of  a  more 
general  movement  which  will  ultimately  bring  about 
"the  Parliament  of  Man,  the  Federation  of  the 
World." 

This  movement  would  be  hastened  if  public  opinion 
in  all  countries  were  educated  to  see  that  a  steady 
increase  in  the  consuming  power,  which  of  course 
means  an  improvement  in  the  economic  conditions 
of  the  people,  should  accompany  the  increase  in  pro- 
duction, if  militarism  were  kept  within  due  bounds, 
if  all  the  artificial  restrictions  to  the  mobility  of 
labour  were  removed,  and  if  the  methods  of  co-oper- 
ation were  extended  to  all  departments  of  life,  so 
that  the  correlation  between  production  and  con- 
sumption might  be  maintained ;  in  short,  if  every- 
thing were  done  to  advance  a  rational  organisation 
of  industry. 

The  question  which  we  have  now  to  answer  is, 
Conciu-     Will    the   action    of    the   various    agencies 

sions.  which  we  have  been  considering  solve  the 
problems  of  industry,  and  satisfy  the  demands  of 
labour  ? 


INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION 


295 


The  answer,  in  my  opinion,  must  be  in  the  affirma- 
tive. The  society  of  the  not  very  distant  future  will 
have  an  admixture  of  individualism,  trade  unionism, 
co-operation  and  municipal  and  State  socialism ;  and 
not  only  will  it  be  found  that  there  is  room  for  all, 
but  also  that  all  are  necessary.  As  the  evolution 
proceeds,  these  different  movements  will  gradually 
approximate  to  each  other  in  their  results.  The  trade 
unions  will  conserve  the  interests  of  the  different 
sections  of  the  workers;  the  co-operative  undertak- 
ings will  reduce  waste,  co-ordinate  supply  and  de- 
mand, establish  a  democratic  control  over  industry, 
and  in  this  manner  cause  a  gradual  transition  of 
property  from  the  individualistic  to  the  collective 
form,  and  bring  about  a  more  uniform  state  of  social 
conditions.  This  transition  will  be  hastened  by  the 
judicious  application  of  legislation  and  of  administra- 
tion in  the  interests  of  the  whole  community.  The 
municipal  and  State  undertakings  will  supply  those 
necessaries  and  conveniences  which  may  be  common 
to  all ;  and  they  will  be  supplemented  by  individual- 
istic and  co-operative  organisations  which  will  provide 
those  things  in  which  a  personal  choice  is  necessary, 
and  which  in  a  sense  may  be  considered  luxuries, 
although  they  will  include  everything  of  an  artistic 
nature  in  which  the  personality  of  the  individual  is 
considered  the  most  important  element.  We  may 
rest  assured  that  there  will  be  sufficient  militant 
individualism  in  the  world  for  a  considerable  time  to 
obstruct  the  too  rapid  extension  of  collectivism  in  its 
various  forms  to  domains  where  the  "creed  of  liberty" 
is  best  left  unviolated.  The  development  of  the  altru- 
istic feeling  will  be  slow,  but,  as  it  proceeds,  individu- 


296  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

alism  will  only  be  another  form  of  collectivism,  for 
then  men  will  seek  their  own  welfare  in  promoting 
that  of  the  community.  The  general  integration  of 
industry  will  be  supplemented  by,  or  rather  combined 
with,  the  local  and  international  integration  which 
I  have  mentioned,  and  all  will  be  permeated  by  a 
socialised  individualism  which  will  bring  about  in 
a  rational  manner  the  ideals  of  thoughtful  social- 
ists. Even  they  admit  that  the  movement  which 
they  represent  can  only  be  successful  in  proportion 
as  it  is  a  brotherly  movement,  and  brotherliness  is 
not  to  be  extended  simply  by  legislation  and  adminis- 
tration. No  society  can  ever  rise  above  the  average 
intelligence  and  conscience  of  the  people.  The  pres- 
ent duty  of  all  social  reformers  is,  therefore,  to  edu- 
cate public  opinion  in  the  direction  of  their  ideals. 
At  the  same  time  they  must  not  press  their  ideals  too 
fast,  for,  as  Herbert  Spencer  has  reminded  us,  "  the 
policy  of  compromise,  alike  in  institutions,  in  actions, 
and  in  beliefs,  which  especially  characterises  English 
life,  is  a  policy  essential  to  a  society  going  through 
the  transitions  caused  by  continual  growth  and  devel- 
opment "  ;  .  .  .  and  further,  that  "for  the  carrying 
on  of  social  life,  the  old  must  continue  so  long  as  the 
new  is  not  ready  :  this  perpetual  compromise  is  an 
indispensable  accompaniment  of  a  normal  develop- 
ment." '  If  these  remarks  were  constantly  kept  in 
mind,  there  would  be  no  need  to  fear  that  the  society 
of  the  future  would  be  a  centralised  cast-iron  system 
of  government  in  which  all  the  people  would  be 
turned  into  civil  servants  under  the  control  of  the 

1  The  Study  of  Sociology,  p.  396. 


xii  INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION  2Q7 

Ministry  of  the  day.  There  would  not  only  be  elas- 
ticity and  variety  in  the  arrangements,  but  also  perfect 
freedom  for  individual  development  so  long  as  that 
did  not  interfere  with  the  welfare  of  the  community. 

The  social  nature  of  the  modern  forces  of  produc- 
tion would  be  recognised,  not  only  in  the  collective 
undertakings,  but  also  in  those  of  an  individualistic 
nature,  and  arrangements  would  be  made  to  harmonise 
the  production,  exchange  and  distribution,  and  the 
intermediate  agencies  would  be  the  means  of  co-ordi- 
nating the  individual  with  the  community.  Under 
such  conditions  there  would  be  free  scope  for  the 
individual,  and  the  result  would  be  the  true  socialism 
which  comes  chiefly  from  within,  as  distinguished 
from  that  which  is  imposed  entirely  from  without. 
The  former  would  lead  to  true  individualism,  and 
ought,  indeed,  to  satisfy  thoughtful  anarchists,1  the 
latter  to  dull  or  dead  uniformity,  and  ultimately  to 
degradation,  both  individual  and  national. 

While  it  is  unwise  to  indulge  too  much  in  the 
framing  of  complete  Utopias,  a  moderate  exercise  of 
the  imagination  is  very  necessary  so  that  the  mind 
may  rise  above  many  of  the  low  and  sordid  views  of 
life  and  its  possibilities  too  often  held  at  present.  As 
the  evolution  proceeds,  the  accomplishment  of  any 
part  of  the  hopes  of  those  who  are  intelligently  and 
earnestly  working  for  the  welfare  of  humanity  will 
open  new  vistas  of  progress,  in  which  not  only  new 
problems  will  be  presented,  but  also  methods  of  solu- 
tion which  are  at  present  undreamt  of,  and  which  will 
probably  indicate  possibilities  which  are  far  beyond 

1  Cf.  Prince  Krapotkin,  "  The  Scientific  Basis  of  Anarchy,"  Nine- 
teenth Century,  February  1887,  p.  238. 


298  THE  EVOLUTION   OF   INDUSTRY  chap. 

the  highest  ideals  of  any  Utopia  which  has  ever  been 
painted. 

The  imagination,  moreover,  must  be  restrained  by 
attention  to  the  physical  and  biological  conditions  of 
welfare  which,  I  have  pointed  out,  are  necessary  for 
every  well-ordered  and  healthy  community.  There  must 
be  no  idlers  or  parasites  who  fatten  on  the  degradation 
of  their  fellow-creatures,  no  rights  apart  from  corre- 
sponding duties,  and  all  must  be  able  to  obtain  the 
necessaries  for  a  healthy  and  intelligent  existence. 

The  first  need  which  must  be  met  out  of  the  national 
resources  is  the  adequate  support  of  the  workers, 
whether  by  brain  or  muscle  ;  and  in  the  society  of  the 
future  brain  labour  will  rank  high,  at  least  in  honour,  if 
not  in  material  reward,  although  manual  labour  will  not 
be  considered  either  degrading  or  menial.  Possibly 
there  will  always  be  a  combination  of  a  certain  amount 
of  manual  work  even  with  the  highest  mental  exertions, 
an  arrangement  which  would  add  both  to  mental 
and  bodily  vigour,  and  render  unnecessary  many  of 
the  rather  ridiculous  methods  which  are  at  present 
adopted  to  keep  our  bodies  in  good  condition.  I  agree 
with  Ruskin  that  many  of  the  exercises  necessary  for 
physical  training  should  not  be  ends  in  themselves> 
as  in  common  gymnastics  or  in  games,  but  that  they 
should  result  in  something  real  and  practical.  He 
says  it  is  "  my  steady  wish  that  schoolboys  should 
learn  skill  in  ploughing  and  seamanship  rather  than 
in  cricket ;  and  that  young  ladies  should  often  be 
sent  to  help  the  cook  and  housemaid  when  they 
would  rather  be  playing  tennis."  1     Indeed,  he  insists 

1  Jgdrasil,  August  1890,  p.  304. 


XII  INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION 


299 


on  making  "  serviceable  labour  "  an  essential  part  of 
all  education  and  daily  life,  and  he  has  made  it  a  con- 
dition of  entry  into  St.  George's  Guild.  The  candi- 
date has  to  swear  and  subscribe  his  honest  hand  to 
this  law :  "  I  will  labour  with  such  strength  and  oppor- 
tunity as  God  gives  me  for  my  own  daily  bread ;  and 
all  that  my  hand  finds  to  do,  I  will  do  it  with  my 
might." 

Next  to  the  claims  of  the  workers  would  come 
those  of  the  aged  and  helpless.  These  latter  are  at 
the  present  time  receiving  much  attention,  and  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  before  long  a  national  scheme 
will  be  carried  out  which  will  fully  provide  for  them. 
The  various  aspects  of  the  subject,  however,  require 
very  careful  consideration. 

Education,  recreation  and  sanitation  will,  under  the 
new  organisation,  receive  every  attention,  so  that  the 
people  may  be  thoroughly  well  developed  physically, 
mentally  and  morally.  The  applications  of  science 
will  be  widely  spread,  but  they  will  always  be  sub- 
ordinated to  the  welfare  of  the  community,  and  will 
never  be  allowed  to  become  its  masters  as  they  are  at 
present,  and  the  individuality  of  the  workers  will  not 
be  destroyed  by  undivided  attention  to  one  class  of 
mechanical  operations.  The  real  problem  at  the  root 
of  industrial  organisation  is,  How  to  get  the  best 
possible  out  of  the  working  and  leisure  moments,  so 
that  all  may  feel  that  life  is  good  and  worth  living. 

In  order  that  this  problem  may  be  solved  in  a 
satisfactory  manner  it  is  necessary  that  art  should 
take  an  important  place  in  industry  and  in  the  daily 
life  of  the  people.  The  satisfaction  of  the  primary 
animal   wants  —  hunger,  thirst,  cold,  etc. — is   com- 


300  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

mon  to  all.  There  is  little  qualitative  difference  in 
different  men  regarding  them,  and  they  may  there- 
fore be  satisfied  by  the  products  of  the  factory  sys- 
tem. There  is,  however,  much  room  for  the  applica- 
tion of  art  in  many  of  the  subsidiary  requirements 
which  would  allow  the  exertion  of  individual,  sponta- 
neous, and  therefore  pleasurable  effort.  It  is,  of 
course,  impossible  to  say  how  far  art  will  be  applied  in 
industry  or  be  developed  in  its  higher  aspects,  for  it 
will  depend  on  the  intellectual  and  moral  progress 
made  by  the  people  and  on  the  conditions  under 
which  they  live.  It  is  at  last  being  recognised  that 
the  true  starting-point  of  economics  is  not  the  produc- 
tion of  cheap  goods  or  the  accumulation  of  material 
wealth,  but  the  qualitative  development  of  consump- 
tion by  the  great  masses  of  the  people. 

When  a  proper  ideal  of  Citizenship  has  grown  up 
in  men's  minds,  instead  of  hoarding  up  riches  for 
themselves,  or  storing  art  treasures  in  their  own 
rooms  which  they  can  only  use  for  gratifying  their 
own  vanity,  they  will  aim  at  making  their  city  or  their 
town  beautiful,  for  they  will  be  convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  surrounding  men's  lives  with  beauty. 
First  of  all  they  will  endeavour  to  preserve  whatever 
natural  beauty  there  may  be.  They  will  therefore 
not  allow  the  green  fields,  the  clear  waters  and  even 
the  air  they  breathe  to  be  turned  into  gold.  They 
will  make  their  public  buildings  worthy  of  the  genius 
and  wealth  of  the  people.  Their  style  of  architect- 
ure will  be  noble  and  dignified,  and  reflect  the  tastes 
and  characteristics  of  the  times.  They  will  be  beau- 
tiful within  and  enriched  with  the  best  works  of  the 
great  national  artists,  and  especially  with  illustrations 


INDUSTRIAL  INTEGRATION 


301 


of  the  development  and  history  of  the  city  and  of  the 
nation.  Art  and  nature  will  be  intertwined,  and  the 
galleries  will  be  placed  in  public  gardens  affording 
illustrations  of  the  wonders  of  nature,  and  opportuni- 
ties of  hearing  the  best  music  and  the  great  national 
dramas,  and  of  taking  part  in  many  other  forms  of 
healthy  enjoyment  and  recreation  and  useful  instruc- 
tion. 

"  Then  perhaps  we  might  do  something  towards 
really  building  up  a  noble  and  beautiful  human  life  — 
a  life  of  useful  and  pleasurable,  but  not  enforced  or 
excessive  labour  ;  of  labour  gladdened  by  its  recurring 
festivals,  and  closely  allied  with  the  invention  and 
colour  of  art;  a  life  in  which  the  individual  might 
have  free  scope,  and  character  its  full  weight,  yet 
with  a  paramount  social  sense  of  the  unity  of  com- 
mon life,  of  the  life  of  which  we  are  each  a  part  only, 
which  was  here  before  we  came,  and  which  will  go 
on  long  after  we  are  gone ;  that  life  which  absorbs 
while  it  protects  and  leaves  free  the  individual  man 
and  woman,  humanising  them  by  the  sense  of  mutual 
love  and  dependence  while  bracing  them  with  a  sense 
of  public  spirit  and  duty  —  such  a  life  which,  col- 
lectively speaking,  is  alone  worthy  to  be  called  a  free 
state."1 

To  the  increased  regard  for  the  quality  and  not 
simply  the  quantity  of  life  we  must,  indeed,  look  for 
the  removal  of  the  social  and  moral  evils  from  which 
we  suffer.  This  applies  not  only  to  the  physical,  but 
also  to  the  intellectual  and  moral  life;  for  in  their 
highest  forms  these  are  essentially  social,  because  a 

1  Walter  Crane,  Claims  of  Decorative  Art,  p.  61. 


302  THE   EVOLUTION   OF  INDUSTRY  chap. 

really  good  life  can  only  be  lived  in  a  good  society. 
The  saying  of  Spinoza  that  "  the  highest  good  is  com- 
mon to  all,  and  all  may  equally  enjoy  it "  is,  as  we 
have  seen,  now  being  recognised  not  simply  as  a 
moral  truth,  but  also  as  a  biological  and  social  fact. 

Such  an  organisation  as  I  have  sketched  would  afford 
the  opportunities  for  every  member  of  the  community 
obtaining  all  that  was  necessary  for  healthy  existence 
and  rational  enjoyment,  in  default  of  which  the  gen- 
uine life  of  Citizenship  must  remain  for  ever  unattain- 
able. A  highly-developed  civic  life  would  render 
unnecessary  a  great  many  of  the  encumbrances  and 
expenses  of  private  life,  which,  without  being  in  any 
way  ascetic,  would  be  plain  and  simple.  The  blind 
struggle  for  individual  existence  would  be  replaced 
by  rational  arrangements  which  would  prevent  the 
perpetuation  of  the  unfit,  and  encourage  the  develop- 
ment of  the  fit ;  and  thus  man  would  be  elevated 
above  the  rest  of  the  animal  kingdom  in  virtue  of 
his  reasoning  and  moral  powers.  Industrial  anarchy 
would  be  replaced  by  a  systematic  organisation  which 
would  co-ordinate  means  to  ends  and  balance  supply 
and  demand.  Property  of  every  kind  would  be  held 
subject  to  the  ultimate  social  good  ;  the  common  well- 
being  or  wealth  of  the  community  would  be  estimated 
by  the  healthy,  noble  lives  of  the  people  and  the  pub- 
lic institutions  of  all  kinds  which  ministered  to  their 
material,  intellectual  and  spiritual  needs.  Equality 
would  not  mean  a  dull,  dead  uniformity  in  the  amount 
and  nature  of  individual  possessions,  although  the  dif- 
ference between  the  extremes  would  be  much  smaller 
than  at  present,  for  equality  would  be  measured  in 
terms  of  worth.     There  would  as  far  as  possible  be 


Xii  INDUSTRIAL   INTEGRATION  303 

equality  of  opportunities,  not  only  for  healthy  de- 
velopment, but  also  for  useful  work;  but  there  must 
necessarily  be  inequalities  of  capacity,  energy,  influ- 
ence, achievement  or  reputation,  although  these  would 
always  be  subordinated  to  social  ends.  Those  who 
had  drunk  deepest  of  the  true  social  spirit  and 
recognised  that  equality  meant  worth,  so  far  from 
being  hostile  to  such  superiorities,  would  gladly  recog- 
nise in  them  a  proof  of  the  implicit  worth  of  all  and 
an  incentive  to  further  self-development.  The  con- 
sideration of  these  subjects  takes  us  far  beyond  the 
evolution  of  Industry  into  that  of  Society  generally, 
and  this  aspect  of  the  subject  must  be  reserved  for 
another  opportunity. 


INDEX. 


America,  wealth  in,  81 
Analogies,  difficulties  of,  44,  255 
Apprenticeship,  69,  203,  206 

German,  213 
Arbitration  and  Conciliation,  115 
Art  and  industry,  218 
Art  and  machinery,  54 
Art  in  the  future,  299 
Associated  homes,  292 

Boards  of  Conciliation  and  Arbi- 
tration, 115,  233 

Canonist  doctrines,  16,  71 
Capital,  23,  274 
Capitalist,  evolution  of,  78 
Carlyle  on  work,  17 
Character,  national,  49 
Citizenship,  duties  of,  49 

ideal  of,  300 
Civic  education,  214 

life,  true,  302 
College  curricula,  205 
Combinations  of  employers,  114 
Comfort,  increase  of,  87 
Commercial  training,  212 
Communities,  feudal,  65 
Competition,  45,  47,  81,  245,  258 
Conciliation  and  Arbitration,  115, 

233 
Conditions,  social,  85 
Conservation  of  energy,  1 1 
Consumers,economic  position  of,40 
Control,  municipal,  1 70 

state,  179 
Co-operation,  aims  of,  134 


Co-operation,  development  of,  137 

methods  of,  141 

and  education,  162 

and  trade  unionism,  157 

and  traders,  154 

results  of,  159 

sphere  of,  261 
Co-operative  colony,  292 
Craft  guilds,  68 
Culture,  general,  221 

Degeneration  and  Death,  41 
Demands  of  workers,  51 
Dissipation  of  Energy,  13 

Economic  conditions,  present,  9 

laws,  6 
Economics  of  future,  47 

and  physics,  14 

of  women's  work,  125 
Education,  185 

civic,  214 

future  of,  299 
Educational  arrangements,  204 
Employers,  combinations  of,  114 
Energy,  conservation  of,  1 1 

dissipation  of,  13 
Environment  and  heredity,  34 
Equality,  true,  303 
Ethics,  social  and  industrial,  61 
Evening  classes,  206 
Evolution  of  capital,  274 

of  capitalist,  78 

industrial,  75 

and  man,  29 

of  socialism,  255 


3°S 


306 


INDEX 


Factory  Acts,  179 

reconstruction,  253 
Familistere  at  Guise,  152 
Feudal  system,  economics  of,  66 

communities,  65 
Froude  on  Progress,  50 
Future  of  economics,  47 

of  education,  299 

of  machinery,  53 

of  politics,  55 

of  society,  295 

German  apprenticeship,  213 
Guilds,  craft,  68 

merchant,  67 

modern  industrial,  228 

Happiness,  97 

Health  and  heredity,  35 

public,  187 

and  environment,  34 
Homes,  associated,  292 
Hours  of  labour,  51,  248 
Human  life,  quality  of,  301 

Individual  v.  environment,  37 
Individualism     and    individuality, 
281 

future  of,  280 

socialised,  288 
Industrial  ethics,  61 

evolution,  75 

guilds,  228 

integration,  255 

training,  199 
Industry  and  art,  218 

organisation  of,  58 
Ingram  (Dr.)  on  Economics,  43, 

74 
Integration,  industrial,  255,  289 
International  relations,  293 

Labour  and  wealth,  15 
Land  question,  47,  279 
Law  in  Nature,  2 


Law  of  Settlement,  72 
Laws,  economic,  6 
Life,  quality  of,  301 
Limited  Liability  Acts,  79 
Living  wage,  42 
Local  integration,  289 
Luxuries,  26 

Machinery  and  art,  54 

future  of,  53 

results  of,  92 
Man  and  evolution,  29 
Materialist  views,  38 
Mechanical  industries,  77 
Merchant  guilds,  67 
Minimum  wage,  244 
Monopolies,  growth  of,  81 

in  United  States,  81 
Moral  and  spiritual  efforts,  27 
Morals  and  labour,  59 
Municipal  control,  170 
Mysterious  dispensations,  42 

National  character,  49 

Debt,  25 

health,  45 
Natural  rights,  274 
Nature,  Law  in,  2 
New  unionism,  104 

Old  persons,  support  of,  299 
Organisation,  42 

Organisation,   ultimate  solution  of 
Unemployed  problem,  249 

Parasitism,  39 
Physical  laws,  3 
Physics  and  economics,  14 
Politics,  future  of,  55 
Population  question,  36,  45,  47 
Post  Office,  190 
Profit-sharing,  149 
Progress,  Froude  on,  50 
Property,  future  of,  279,  302 
Public  health,  187 


INDEX 


307 


Railways  and  mines,  management 

of,  191 
Reformation,  economic  effects  of, 

72 
Regulation  of  industry,  state,  7 1 
Religion,  96 
Reward  of  ability,  22 
of  work,  19 

Settlement,  Law  of,  72 

Smith  (Adam)  on  Economics,  72 

Social  development,  48 

duty,  41 

and  industrial  ethics,  61 

conditions,  85,  192 

science  and  biology,  2 
Socialised  individualism,  288 
Socialism,  evolution  of,  255 

and  State  control,  194 
Sociology,  study  of,  57 
Society  of  the  future,  295 
Special  schools,  209 
Spencer's  (  Herbert)  politics,  256 
Sphere  of  Trade  Unions,  260 

of  co-operation,  261 

of  collectivism,  264 

of  legislation,  272 

of  individualism,  280 
State  control,  179 

management,  188 

regulation,  71 

as  organism,  43 
Struggle  for  existence,  30,  302 
Syndicates  and  trusts,  81 


Trade  Unions,  99 

development  of,  100 

objects  of,  104 

results  of,  106 

sphere  of,  260 

and  legislation,  115 
Trade  unionism  and  co-operation, 

«57 
Trades  congresses,  117 
Traders  and  co-operation,  154 
Training,  industrial,  199 
commercial,  212 

Unions,  Trade,  99 
Unionism,  New,  104 
Unemployed,  problem  of  the,  246, 
249 

Voluntary  associations,  177 

Wage,  minimum,  244 
Wages,  20,  236 
Watt,  inventions  of,  76 
Wealth,  8 

in  America,  81 
Women  workers,  96,  120 
Women's  influence,  131 

work,  122,  125 
Work,  useful,  18,  26 

quality  of,  52 
Workers,  conditions  of,  95 

demands  of,  51 

support  of,  298 
Workshop  reconstruction,  250 


ECONOMIC    CLASSICS: 

A  Series  of  Attractive  and  Inexpensive  Volumes  on  Economics. 

Edited  by  W.  J.  ASHLEY,  M.A., 
Professor  of  Economic  History,  Harvard  University. 

12MO,   LIMP  CLOTH,   75  CENTS   EACH. 
VOLUMES  NOW  READY. 

Select  Chapters  and  Passages  from  the  "Wealth  of  Nations," 
of  Adam  Smith,  1776. 

By  careful  selection  and  excision,  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  present,  in  a 
volume  of  some  280  small  and  pleasantly  printed  pages,  the  whole  of  Adam  Smith's 
economic  philosophy.  The  differences  between  the  first  edition  and  the  third,  the 
only  one  into  which  Adam  Smith  introduced  any  changes,  are  clearly  indicated. 

The  First  Six  Chapters  of  "  The  Principles  of  Political  Economy 
and  Taxation,"  of  David  Ricardo,  1817. 

These  are  the  chapters  in  which  Ricardo  states  his  general  economic  theory, 
which  he  applies  in  the  rest  of  his  work  to  various  practical  questions.  Much  of 
the  argument  of  the  celebrated  chapter  on  Value  was  rewritten  in  the  third  edition 
of  1817,  and  there  was  an  important  insertion  in  the  chapter  on  Wages.  All  such 
changes  and  additions  are  here  for  the  first  time  indicated. 

Parallel  Chapters  from  the  First  and  Second  Editions  of  "An 
Essay  on  the  Principle  of  Population,"  by  T.  R.  Mai  thus, 
1 798-1 803. 

That  Malthus  adopted  a  very  different  position  in  the  second  edition  of  his  essay 
has  long  been  recognized  by  competent  critics.  But  the  first  edition  is  inaccessible 
to  most  readers.  The  two  versions  of  his  teaching  are  here  for  the  first  time  printed 
side  by  side,  so  as  to  facilitate  comparison. 

IN  PRESS. 

"ENGLAND'S  TREASURE  BY  FORRAIGN  TRADE." 

BY  THOMAS   MUN,  1664. 

A  careful  reprint,  retaining  much  of  the  external  appearance  of  the  original.  It 
was  this  book  which  for  the  first  time  gave  a  clear  statement  in  English  of  the  theory 
of  the  Balance  of  Trade  and  the  principles  of  the  Mercantile  system;  and  it_ un- 
doubtedly exercised  much  influence  upon  the  policy  of  England  and  her  American 
colonies  during  the  17th  and  18th  centuries.  It  has,  however,  been  practically 
inaccessible  to  most  students  who  have  been  obliged  to  be  content  with  Adam  Smith's 
account  of  it.  Adam  Smith,  it  may  be  remembered,  spoke  of  its  very  "title"  as 
embodying  "  a  fundamental  maxim  in  the  political  economy,  not  of  England  only, 
but  of  all  other  commercial  countries." 


Other  Volumes  to  Follow 

include  --'orks  in  the  line  of  the  above  and  translations  of  important  foreign  treatises. 
Since  the  writings  of  Dr.  Ingram  and  Professor  Cossa,  the  names  of  many  of  these 
are  coming  to  be  generally  known  by  economists  in  English-speaking  lands,  but 
they  are  still  rarely  read  owing  to  the  barrier  of  language.  Among  the  older  writers 
under  consideration  are  Roscher,  Von  Thiinen,  and  Hermann.  To  these  will  be 
added  a  few  translations  from  more  recent  authors  of  eminence. 


"The  work  of  putting  the  substance  of  the  older  and  less  accessible  economic 
writings  within  the  easy  reach  of  students  of  the  history  of  political  economy,  in  an 
attractive  form  and  at  a  very  reasonable  price,  was  certainly  well  worth  under- 
taking ;  and  the  selection  of  so  careful  and  well-qualified  a  scholar  as  Professor 
Ashley  to  edit  the  series  is  fortunate.  I  am  very  well  pleased  with  the  first  instal- 
ments."— Adolph.  C.  Miller,  Professor  0/  Economic  History  and  Finance, 
University  of  Chicago. 

MACMILLAN  &  00.,  66  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


UCSB  LI  BR  ART 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     000  658  124    3 


Bffi 


■  n  • 


